Aziadé Chemat granted first European PhD degree at Avignon Université

16-Oct-2026 - Aziadé Chemat was given today the European PhD degree (first at Avignon Université) following the doctoral thesis defence held today at the INRAE center of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur based in Avignon, France.

Doctoral jury members were Professor Nabil Grimi, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, France, Jean-Marc Leveque, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc and Université Grenoble, Dr Arianna Marengo, University of Turin, and Dr Mario Pagliaro, Italy's Research Council. Professor Werner Kunz, Regensburg University, Germany, provided his evaluation report in written form.

Entitled «Edible solvents for ingredients 2.0, an ancient and novel way to extract» the candidate's Thesis presents the outcomes of plentiful research conducted during her 3-year PhD in Green Extraction of Natural Products between Avignon University and University of Turin within the UNESCO Chair in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. Three, in particular, the novel approaches by which Ms. Chemat demonstrated the feasibility of the novel approach.

A caffeine-rich aqueous extract obtained after multiple extraction runs of coffee silverskin reusing each time the aqueous extract obtained in the previous run in a subsequent extraction of a novel silverskin matrix.

Two optimized methods based on subcritical water extraction (using microwaves as heating source) of crushed or defatted hemp seeds to obtain a valued matrix enriched in proteins and flavonoids.

A method based on the use of Opuntia ficus-indica gel as extraction solvent to extract valued flavonoids from Opuntia ficus-indica flowers, thereby obtaining a gel enriched in anti-inflammatory and health-beneficial compounds.

The doctorate was carried out between October 2023 and October 2026 under a joint doctoral program (cotutelle) between Avignon University and the University of Turin, Italy, under the joint supervision of Dr. Anne-Sylvie Fabiano-Tixier and Professor Giancarlo Cravotto.

"During her very clear, well-structured, synthetic, and pedagogical oral presentation, Ms. Chemat managed to highlight the most significant results of her work. The defense was conducted in English, where the candidate demonstrated her ease in choosing precise technical and scientific vocabulary to present her results" concluded the jury recommending Ms Chemat for the PhD title.

Home, since 2022, to the UNESCO Chair in Plant Based Green and Sustainable Chemistry, the University of Avignon welcomes young researchers from the South in its laboratories of Avignon University and those of its industrial partners.

The Chair furthermore organizes an annual conference in a partner country (8 in Africa, Algeria, Benin, Ivory Coast, Egypt Madagascar, Morocco, Mauritius, Tunisia, and 4 in Europe, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Italy) to discuss the scientific challenges of eco-extraction, its societal impact and to carry out training activities.

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