People

Postdoctoral Researchers

Iana Lychko

PostDoc Researcher

Iana Lychko

PostDoc Researcher

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.

PhD Students

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Sara Pereira

Research Assistant

Sara Pereira

Research Assistant

Sara Pereira holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology, and a master’s degree in Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Técnico. Sara has previously worked as a research assistant at Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica. Her work focused on studying a 12-mer catalytic peptide, specifically the propensity to undergo phase separation and form liquid-like micro-sized coacervates. Sara has now joined the Biomolecular Engineering Lab for the UNMASK project because she wants to learn more and gain practical experience with cutting-edge techniques for non-invasive diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases.

Bárbara Diogo

Research Assistant

Bárbara Diogo

Research Assistant

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. Previously she was the Project manager of the Biomeng Group. Now she has join the team as a Research Assistant and hopes her experience will contribute to science.

Maria Pinho

Research Assistant

Maria Pinho

Research Assistant

Maria Rolão Pinho completed her bachelor's and master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico. Following her degree, she worked as a junior researcher, where her work centered on the development of microfluidic on-chip diagnostic assay and point of care devices for detection and quantification of cancer biomarkers in human serum. Maria has now joined the Biomolecular Engineering Lab for the SUBTLE project because she is eager to learn more about biobased optical gels and contribute to the development of a low-cost solution to protect public health thorough anti-counterfeiting.

Bachelor Students

Busra Polat

Bachelor Student

Busra Polat

Bachelor Student

Busra Polat is a Biology bachelor’s degree student at Eskişehir Technical University, with a background in bioinformatics, enzyme modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations. She gained practical experience as a laboratory assistant, and her bachelor thesis focused on strategies to enhance enzyme thermostability. During her Erasmus internship at the Biomolecular Engineering Group, she will be working under the supervision of Arménio Barbosa on a virus-related project involving molecular dynamics simulations.

Master Students

Gabriel Morais

Master Student

Gabriel Morais

Master Student

Gabriel Morais holds a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar (ESTM- IPL). He is currently pursuing his Master degree in Biochemistry at NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA). His thesis focuses on the design of chromogenic chimeric proteins for the efficient dyeing of cotton fibers.

Maria Roque

Master Student

Maria Roque

Master Student

Maria Roque holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA) and is currently pursuing her Master's in Biochemistry at the same institution. She is working on the UNMASK project, which aims to fingerprint metabolites associated with Parkinson’s disease patients by applying principles of protein design and engineering.

João Pires

Master Student

João Pires

Master Student

João Pires is a Master's Student who is doing his thesis about molecular docking in the Biomolecular Engineering Lab at NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology. He has a degree in Biology in Instituto Superior de Agronomia (2021-2024) and a Master Degree in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics in NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology (2024- ). I did the first certificate in Cambridge and I also have the twelve grade. My former position is a Student in NOVA Faculty of Science and Technology.