Biography
Dr. Castro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at California Polytechnic State University, and is the founder and director of the Fermented Beverages Laboratory. Dr. Castro has established the Fermented Beverages Laboratory at Cal Poly as a center to strengthen hands-on undergraduate and graduate education, as well as providing research opportunities in fermentation science.
Education:
2013 Ph.D. Food Science, Washington State University
2009 M.S. Food Science, Washington State University
2006 Licentiate in Chemistry, University of Costa Rica
2004 B. S. Chemistry, University of Costa Rica
Professional Experience:
2022 – present Associate Professor, Food Science and Nutrition Department, California Polytechnic State University
2015 - 2022 Assistant Professor, Food Science and Nutrition Department, California Polytechnic State University
2014 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Food Science and Nutrition Department, Washington State University
2007 Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department, Technological Institute of Costa Rica
Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Al-Holy, M., Castro L.F., Al-Qadiri, H. (2009). Inactivation of Cronobacter spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii) in infant formula using lactic acid, copper sulfate and monolaurin. Lett Appl Microbiol. 50, 246-251.
Castro, L.F. and Ross, C.F. (2012). Removal of volatiles from beer by gas (N2) stripping coupled with high-vacuum. J Am Soc Brew Chem. 70, 137-141. ** American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) Editor’s Pick for Research and Trends on the ASBC monthly newsletter (the ‘Buzz’).
Castro, L.F. and Ross, C.F. (2013). The Effect of Protein and Carbohydrate Levels on the Chemical and Sensory Properties of Beer. J Am Soc Brew Chem. 71, 186-192. ** American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) Editor’s Pick for Research and Trends on the ASBC monthly newsletter (the ‘Buzz’).
Ross, C.F., Secor, A., Castro, L.F., Harrison, R. (2014). Odour Detection Threshold and Consumer Rejection of 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene in 1-year-old Riesling Wines. Aust J Grape Wine Res. 20, 335-339.
Castro, L.F. and Ross, C.F. (2015). Determination of Flavour Compounds in Beer using Stir-Bar Sorptive Extraction and Solid-Phase Microextraction. J Inst Brew. 121, 197-203.
Castro, L.F. and Ross, C.F. (2015). Optimization of a Solid Phase Dynamic Extraction (SPDE) Method for Beer Volatile Profiling. Food Anal Method. 8, 2115-2124.
Castro, L.F. and Ross, C.F. (2018). Correlation Between Sensory Descriptive Analysis and Volatile Composition of Beer using Multivariate Analysis: The Effect of the Non- Volatile Matrix on the Sensory Perception and Volatile Fraction Behavior. J Am Soc Brew Chem. 76, 86 – 95.
Castro, L.F., Peuker, S., Mott, J. (2021). Application of Team-Based Learning for Teaching Food Analysis. J Food Sci Educ. 20, 78 - 87.
Castro, L.F., Bryant, N. (2021). Laboratory-Scale Study of the Effect of Wort Gravity, International Bitterness Unit Levels, and Serial Repitching on Viability of an Ale Yeast Strain. Tech Q Master Brew Assoc Am. 58, 78 – 85.
Castro, L.F., Affonso, A.D., Lehman, R. (2021). Impact of Specialty Malts on Wort and Beer Characteristics. Fermentation. 7, 137.
