I am a Biotechnological Engineer with a PhD in Biology-Molecular Biology and a strong background in Marine Biotechnology. My current research interest is directed at unlocking the potential of marine resources with focus on marine proteins and is allied to the development of innovative seafood products and technologies. My added value generated extends to a variety of blue biotechnological applications creating a broad range of socioeconomic benefits (biomedical, aquaculture, health and nutrition).
The high biodiversity of marine genomes makes them a largely untapped reservoir of valuable compounds (proteins) with a variety of biotechnological applications that are underexplored. I have been dedicated to the exploitation of the bio-potential of marine proteins and create added value compounds of socioeconomic benefits (aquaculture, microalgae, cosmeceutical, and seafood industry), while I have contributed to the implementation and promotion of the CCMAR ProtMar service platform (Marine Recombinant Proteins and Biosensors platform, is part of EMBRC-PT) through the integration of molecular and functional approaches.
From the context sustainable food production systems seafood is an increasingly important source of proteins in the human diets (market on the rise due to scarcity of land-based food). However, seafood is highly perishable, generating waste and representing a health hazard, which causes serious socioeconomic losses, being also associated with food allergies (a food safety concern on a global scale). I have been dedicated to studying the application of innovative and sustainable technologies for processing and quality monitoring of seafood products, targeted to extend shelf-life, improve food product quality&safety, reduce waste and increase the sector sustainability. Specifically, I am developing a work line in Foodomics, by implementing proteomics approaches to investigate protein biomarkers (freshness, degradation and of allergenicity) of applications in food quality&safety monitoring.
