Noella Marcellino
Mother Noella Marcellino | |
---|---|
Born | Martha A. Marcellino June 30, 1951 |
Citizenship | American |
Alma mater | University of Connecticut |
Known for | Microbiology |
Awards | Fulbright Scholarship French Fellowship French Food Spirit Award |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Microbiology Molecular biology Cellular biology |
Institutions | Abbey of Regina Laudis |
Mother Noella Marcellino, O.S.B., (born Martha A. Marcellino; June 30, 1951)[1] is an American Benedictine nun who has earned a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Connecticut. Studying fungi in France on a Fulbright Scholarship,[2] she concentrated on the positive effects of decay and putrefaction as well as the odors and flavors of cheese.[3]
Biography[]
Marcellino dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College.[4] The Archbishop of Hartford, John Whealon, gave permission for members of the cloistered community of Benedictine nuns of Abbey of Regina Laudis to embark on a pilgrimage for higher education.[5] In December 1986, Marcellino and three other nuns applied and were accepted into courses for Agricultural Science at the University of Connecticut.[5]
In 1987 the group began a program in scholarship that resulted in all receiving doctoral degrees; Marcellino's was in molecular and cell biology/microbiology.[5] She began with introductory sciences courses at The University of Connecticut's campus in Waterbury, but it was during a visit by UCONN organic chemistry professor Nina Stein to the abbey's cheese cellar, that the professor suggested that she focus her research on the microbiology of cheese ripening.[5]
She won a Fulbright scholarship[6] to France to collect and examine native strains of fungi, with an emphasis on Geotrichum candidum,[7] from traditional cheese caves and stayed an additional three years, analyzing the samples on a grant from the French government.[5]
Mother Noella used to not be able to eat cheese, except for the occasional chunk of smoked cheddar and had been making cheese in a wooden whiskey barrel since 1977.[8]
She is a member of the Abbey of Regina Laudis.[9] She now frequently advises the United States cheese industry and she is a speaker and judge at competitions.
Her brother is John "Jocko" Marcellino, founding member and drummer with Sha Na Na.
Praise[]
She was praised by Rémy Grappin, the late Director of Research at France's National Institute of Agricultural Research, who said that she had studied the biodiversity of raw-milk cheese fungi and no one else was fighting harder to preserve it in a world of standardization and pasteurization. She was named the official cheese maker of Abbey of Regina Laudis and she is part of an ancient order of cheese makers.[10] She won a French Food Spirit Award and the organizers for the award said that she was an international expert of cheese.[8]
Documentary[]
Marcellino was the subject of a PBS documentary called The Cheese Nun,[11] but she said that she does not like being called a cheese nun. She was filmed while she traveled though the French countryside collecting information from cheese-making experts.[10] Mother Dolores Hart advised her to go with "The Cheese Nun", because cheese is more appealing than fungi.
See also[]
Additional sources[]
- Microbe, "Microbiological Research Adds a Scientific Element to Cheesemaking"[12]
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Cheese fest is habit-forming"[13]
- Holy Trinity Apostolate, "Lenten Symposium 2009"[14]
- New Worlder, "Mother Noella & The Ecosystems of Cheese"[15]
Footnotes[]
- ^ U.S. Public Records Index Vol 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
- ^ Karen Gaudette (May 16, 2007). "The mother of cheesemaking has art down to a science". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Weil, Andrew (2005). Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-being. Fitness In No Time. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-375-40755-0.
- ^ "'Cheese Nun' leads abbey in production of the traditional, gourmet food". 2013-02-27.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e [1] University of Connecticut Alumni Magazine, Volume 6, Number 2 - Summer 2005, by Karen A. Singer, "Pursuing a Higher Education", accessed 01018-2009
- ^ fulbrightonline.com, SISTER NOELLA MARCELLINO - Fulbright U.S. Student Fellow 1994-1995, accessed 01-18-2009
- ^ N. Marcellino et al. (Oct. 2001) "Diversity of Geotrichum candidum Strains Isolated from Traditional Cheesemaking Fabrications in France", Applied and Environmental Microbiology, volume 67, #10, pp. 4752–59
- ^ Jump up to: a b Angela Doland (December 16, 2003). "Nun Serves As France's Cheese Ambassador in U.S." Red Orbit website. Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Burkhard Bilger (August 19, 2002). "RAW FAITH". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Jason Buchanan (2008). "The Cheese Nun: Sister Noella's Voyage of Discovery". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ "Sister Noella Marcellino 'Takes Five'". JS Online website. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. March 7, 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ asm.org Microbe, March 2004, "In the world of fine cheesemaking, Mother Noella stands alone.", accessed 01-18-2009
- ^ seattlepi.nwsource.com by HSIAO-CHING CHOU (May 15, 2007), "Cheese fest is habit-forming", accessed 01-18-2009
- ^ holytrinityapostolate.com, 2009 events, accessed 01-18-2009
- ^ [2] "Mother Noella & The Ecosystems of Cheese" by Nicholas Gill
- 1951 births
- Living people
- People from Bethlehem, Connecticut
- Benedictine nuns
- American Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns
- University of Connecticut alumni
- Cheesemakers
- American food scientists
- 20th-century Christian nuns
- 21st-century Christian nuns
- 20th-century American scientists
- 21st-century American scientists
- 20th-century American women scientists
- 21st-century American women scientists
- Scientists from Connecticut
- Catholics from Connecticut