People

PhD Students

Carlos Costa

PhD Student

Carlos Costa

PhD Student

Carlos Costa is a PhD student in Biotechnology. Previously completed the BSc in Cell and Molecular Biology and the MSc in Biochemistry at NOVA School of Science and Technology. During the Master's Thesis, worked at the Bionano Research Laboratory of UCIBIO (Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit), using a multidisciplinary approach to study the interaction between blood serum proteins and spherical gold nanoparticles as a potential novel diagnostics technique. Carlos is a young researcher fascinated about developing new tools to improve health and well-being.

Henrique Costa

PhD Student

Henrique Costa

PhD Student

Henrique Costa is a PhD student in Biotechnology at FCT-NOVA, with a background in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. His PhD project is focused on the development of novel biomaterials to be used as sustainable alternatives in downstream processing applications. He worked as a research assistant for 1 year under the SCENT ERC Project, and has experience in volatolomics, gas sensors, humidity and sensitivity. As a researcher, his main interests reside in biomaterials, green chemistry, and sustainability.

Inês Padrão

PhD Student

Inês Padrão

PhD Student

Inês Padrão is a PhD student in Biotechnology at FCT-NOVA, with a background in Biochemistry. Her PhD project is focused on the development of novel bio-based materials derived from cephalopods proteins. She worked as a research assistant for 1.5 years under the ACCuseD project (PTDC/SAL-SER/30388/2017), and completed her master thesis "Multicomponent chemically and physically cross-linked hydrogels" under the Sea2See project(PTDC/BII-BIO/28878/2017). She has experience in protein expression and purification, rheology, volatolomics and gas sensors.

Cátia Soares

PhD Student

Cátia Soares

PhD Student

Cátia Soares holds a Bachelor in Biochemistry and a Master in Biotechnology both from School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon. Currently, she is a research fellow at Biomolecular Engineering Lab (UCIBIO) in the PROTEIOS project financed by FCT (PTDC/CTM-CTM/3389/2021). She believes that her research will contribute to implementing protein-based materials as sustainable and functional bio-based materials. She works in the areas of Bioengineering and Biotechnology with an emphasis on molecular biology, protein engineering, and bio-based materials.

Catarina Domingos

PhD Student

Catarina Domingos

PhD Student

Catarina Domingos is a PhD student in Biotechnology. She has a background in Chemical and Biological Engineering and her thesis project is focused on the development of functionalized purification matrices, for the bioseparation of biopharmaceuticals. She did her MSc thesis in BIOCEV institute and has experience in photosensitive proteins.

Carolina Natal

PhD Student

Carolina Natal

PhD Student

Carolina Natal is a research assistant in the Biomolecular Engineering Lab at NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology. She has a degree in Biochemistry (2018) and a Master Degree in Techniques of Characterization and Chemical Analysis (2021) by University of Minho (Braga). She worked in the SMASUS project as a research assistant before joining the PURE team. She has a background in HPLC/NMR/MS techniques, organic chemistry, affinity ligands, quantification of proteins and electrophoresis methods.

Catarina Faustino

PhD Student

Catarina Faustino

PhD Student

Research Assistants

Iana Lychko

PhD Student

Iana Lychko

PhD Student

Iana Lychko is a PhD student in Biotechnology at the School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon (FCT-NOVA). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and a Master's degree in Biotechnology both from FCT-NOVA. She joined the Biomolecular Engineering lab in 2016 for a summer internship and then proceed with her master thesis. During her Master's, she did an internship at the University of Marseille for 2 months, where her work was based on the chemical synthesis of small cyclic peptides using the solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) technique. After finishing her master thesis in 2019 she held a position as a Research Assistance in Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas (UCIBIO) and was involved in the Sea2See project (financed by FCT and ERDF). Currently, her PhD project is focused on the production of stimuli-responsive biomaterials. She works in the area of Biotechnology with an emphasis on molecular biology, protein engineering, recombinant production as well as purification and characterization.

Hakan ONUR

Research Assistant

Hakan ONUR

Research Assistant

Hakan ONUR serves as a research fellow within the Biomolecular Engineering Lab at the NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Bülent Ecevit University in Turkey (2018). Afterward, he earned his Master's degree from Gebze Technical University in Turkey (2022). During his academic journey, he joined a research project supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, Grant Number: 120Z184). He successfully completed his master's thesis, which was based on the findings of this research project. In addition to his academic pursuits, Hakan gained practical experience in the field of molecular biology. He spent three months as a molecular biologist in the Coronavirus diagnostic laboratory at Merkez Prime Hospital in Gebze, Turkey. Subsequently, he worked as a laboratory technician for 16 months at Sicgen Antibody company in Lisbon, Portugal. Throughout his education, Hakan also completed internships in various research groups, where he delved into different research areas and subjects. His primary focus has been on the design, production, purification, and characterization of recombinant proteins. He has consistently strived to enhance his proficiency in experimental techniques associated with these processes.

Ana Spencer

Research Assistant

Ana Spencer

Research Assistant

Ana Spencer is a research assistant in the ENSURE project at the Biomolecular Engineering Lab. She holds a degree in Biochemistry (2015) and a master’s degree in Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine (2017) from NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology and a second master’s degree in Economics and Management of Innovation (2021) from Faculty of Economics, University of Porto. Currently, she is also completing her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto. With a background in the synthesis and preparation of biomaterials and nanoparticles, as well as expertise in the development of microfluidics, cell culture, and animal manipulation, she is deeply engaged in exploring and translating biotechnology into the market.

Susana Fernandes

Research Assistant

Susana Fernandes

Research Assistant

Susana Fernandes is a research assistant in the ENSURE project at the Biomolecular Engineering Lab. She holds an integrated master's degree in Biomedical Engineering (2023) from NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology. Susana's work focuses on developing computation algorithms for signal processing and classification of biological samples with machine learning methods.

Afonso Eva

Research Assistant

Afonso Eva

Research Assistant

Afonso Eva holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry (2021) from Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, and a master’s degree in Biotechnology (2023) from NOVA School of Science and Technology. Afonso has previously worked with bacteria pure cultures to develop a sustainable bioprocess for CO2 capture and biomass valorization into value-added products. Now, he aims to gain experience in other research fields with innovative techniques and grow as a valuable member of the team and that is why he joined Biomolecular Engineering Lab as a fellow researcher within the PROTEIOS project.

Rita Faísca

Research Assistant

Rita Faísca

Research Assistant

Rita Faísca holds a Bachelor in Biochemistry and Master in Biochemistry for Health both by NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology. Rita did her Master thesis internship at Instituto de Medicina Molecular (Rheumatology Research Unit) about "The Role of JAK STAT Signaling pathway in early arthritis.". This was a translational research project with the aim of studying the activation of the JAK STAT signaling pathway in early arthritis patients (less than 1 year of disease duration) recruited at consultations from Hospital Santa Maria. Her work included patients' whole blood sample processing and flow cytometry analysis for leukocyte population and subpopulation characterization. Rita has now joined the PURE team to work as a Research Assistant.

João Saavedra

Research Assistant

João Saavedra

Research Assistant

João Saavedra completed the bachelor’s (2021) and master’s (2023) degrees in Biological Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). During the master’s thesis, he conducted research work on the downstream processing of bacteriophages’ preparations for clinical applications, at the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB). Currently, João Saavedra is working as a research assistant in the PROSPLIGN project, which comprises producing, purifying and characterising recombinant proteins to be used in an artificial olfaction sensor. Before joining the Biomolecular Engineering Lab, João worked as a teaching assistant in the laboratory courses of Biological Reactors, at IST.

Project Manager

Bárbara Diogo

Project Manager

Bárbara Diogo

Project Manager

Bárbara Diogo holds a Bachelor in Applied Biology and a Master in Applied Marine Biology both from University of Aveiro. She has worked as a Research Assistant with the Marine Mammal Research Team from the University of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Throughout her academic and professional career, Bárbara developed interested for communicating science whereas for the scientific community or simply as a guide for a sustainable marine tourism company. She believes her love for communicating science and managing projects can contribute to the Pure Project and therefore she joined the team as Project Manager.

Master Students

Jéssica Rodrigues

Master Student

Jéssica Rodrigues

Master Student

Jéssica Rodrigues is a Master student in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at Faculty of Science and Technology, University NOVA of Lisbon with a Bachelor in Biology from Faculty of Science of the University of Lisbon. This year she will be working on her master thesis "Computational Modeling of Biopharmaceuticals Purification Systems".

Eduarda Rodrigues

Master Student

Eduarda Rodrigues

Master Student

Renata Costa

Master Student

Renata Costa

Master Student

Renata Miguel is an MSc student at NOVA School of Science and Technology, specializing in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. Her thesis, "Exploring Alternative Culture Media for Protein Recombinant Expression in Bacterial Hosts," focuses on the use of recycled culture media from mammalian cell cultures for the recombinant production of structural proteins in E. coli. This research, in collaboration with the Biomolecular Engineering Lab and iBET in Oeiras, Portugal, aims to reduce the costs and environmental impact of bioproduction processes by exploring sustainable alternatives.