MEET THE TEAM

Is a Principal Investigator in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, holding a degree in Chemical Engineering (1996), a MSc in Biochemistry (1999) and a PhD in Biotechnology (2004), from Instituto Superior Técnico. She is an associate professor and coordinator of the Pharmaceutical Engineering master’s program at IST/FFUL. Her expertise lies in bioprocess engineering, focusing on the optimisation, integration and intensification of bioprocesses through miniaturisation, high throughput screening, and continuous bioprocessing.

Principal Investigator in Biomolecular Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering and Nanobiotechnology. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (1993) and a Habilitation in Chemical Engineering (2003) from IST. Miguel’s work revolves around the Biomanufacturing of Nucleic Acids, and Biosensing and diagnostics, with focus on the engineering of bioprocesses and bacterial strains for the manufacturing of nucleic acids – plasmid DNA, minicircles, mRNA and dsRNA-, and on the development of biologically based diagnostic systems (e.g., lateral flow assays, paper-based devices).

Research scientist in bioengineering, with a special focus on downstream processing. She holds an Integrated Master in Biological Engineering (2015), from IST, and a PhD in Biotechnology and Biosciences (2023) in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich. Her research focuses on the downstream processing of various clinically relevant biomolecules, with an emphasis on cost-effective biomanufacturing to improve access to healthcare. Ana Rita’s interest in science is complemented by an active involvement in dissemination activities.

PhD in Biotechnology in 2008, and has over 15 years of research experience providing technical support to R&D projects in the fields of molecular diagnostics and nanotechnology. She holds a postgraduate degree in Project Management (2017) and has entrepreneurship experience from creating a start-up in the field of molecular diagnostic devices, Magnomics SA (2014-2017). Since 2017, Sofia has been a Research Manager, focusing on building collaborations with both national and European partners and supporting researchers in securing funding for new scientific ideas and projects.

In 2018 earned her PhD from IST, where she focused her thesis on using synthetic biology in lactic acid bacteria. She also possesses a Master’s degree in Applied Microbiology and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, specializing in Molecular Biology and Genetics, from the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa. Currently, as a post-doctoral researcher at IST, Sofia is engaged in projects involving synthetic biology, molecular biology, microbiology, and nanotechnology, particularly for biomedical and bioengineering applications. In her previous work, she made notable contributions to the production of bacteriophages for preclinical studies, with a focus on purification techniques and endotoxin removal.

Marta Candeias is the Head of Research and Innovation Funding Support Office at IST-ID. She has a PhD in Technology Assessment (NOVA School of Science and Technology, 2023) and a Master in Biologic Engineering (Técnico Lisboa, 2007). In the last 15 years she has followed research, innovation and entrepreneurship national and European policies and its implementation through the European research and innovation funding programs (Horizon Europe, H2020 and FP7). With a strong knowledge of the national and European funding landscape she has advised companies, research institutes and academia on which funding scheme to use, how to use it, whom to get on board and who to contact to increase chances of success.

Carina L. Gargalo is a sustainability specialist and researcher at the Technical University of Denmark. Her projects and experience range from modelling and optimization to digitalization and sustainability.

Her main research focus is on the development and digitalization of bio-solutions towards green innovation, focusing on the design and optimization of processes and supply chains where circularity and sustainability are the main focus. Furthermore, Carina’s key research field is to bridge sustainability and digitalization – aiming to bring sustainability considerations to online or (near) real-time decision-making at all scales in biomanufacturing.

Krist V. Gernaey is Professor in Industrial Fermentation Technology at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), at the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. He is also the head of the Process and Systems Engineering Center (PROSYS) at DTU, and chairman of the board of Helix Lab Kalundborg. He is co-founder of Bioscavenge ApS, a startup with focus on resource recovery on industrial process streams.

Professor Gernaey leads research activities in mathematical modelling, digitalization and novel sensor devices, all applied to fermentation and resource recovery operations. He has been the main supervisor of 31 PhD students, and has co-authored over 340 peer reviewed scientific papers (Web of Science, H-index = 58).

Dr. M. Nicolas Cruz B. is heading the KIWI-biolab at TU Berlin, an international group leading the development and application of machine learning tools for the automation of high throughput bioprocess development. The research of Dr. Cruz focuses on bioprocess digitalization, model-based tools for biotechnology and biopharma, High Throughput Bioprocess Development, and autonomous biolabs. In the recent years his research has pushed the integration of model-based methods and High Throughput experiments to accelerate bioprocess development. Notable achievements in Dr. Cruz’s career include the development of adaptive algorithms for online optimal redesign of parallel experiments and innovative hybrid tools combining Machine Learning and dynamical modeling for bioprocess engineering. He is driven by the belief that robotic systems require sophisticated digital tools, models, and algorithms to fully harness their potential in bioprocess development and biomanufacturing.

Peter Neubauer heads the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at TU Berlin since 2008. His scientific focus areas are (i) bioprocess scale-up and scale-down strategies, (ii) bioprocess development for difficult-to-express proteins (iii) fully automated self-driven laboratories for bioprocess development. He developed strategies such as EnBase® and FastScan® and is connected to commercialization of scientific developments with the spin-out companies Enpresso, CELL-tainer, and BioNukleo. Currently, his group has built the KIWI-biolab which aims to develop the technological basis for the fully automated intelligent and autonomous development of bioprocesses. This is achieved by integrating novel technologies of PAT, robotics for cell cultivation and comprehensive process analytics, digitalization, mathematical modelling and AI/machine learning. His achievements were honored with the Thought leader Award by Agilent in 2023.

Dr. Annina Kemmer is postdoctoral researcher at the KIWI-biolab at Technische Universität Berlin, and the manager of the high throughput laboratory. Her expertise lies in bioprocess automation and mechanistic modelling.
Annina Kemmer studied biotechnology at the Technische Universität Berlin in the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering headed by Prof. Dr. Peter Neubauer. In 2023, she completed her PhD in an industry cooperation with the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. Her thesis, which focused on the development of model-based feed control in miniaturized automated cultivations, earned her the 2024 doctoral prize for young female scientists awarded by her faculty. Her postdoctoral work, which focuses on digitalization and open science, is funded by the interdisciplinary DiGiTal graduate program.

Rosa Haßfurther holds a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Chemistry from TU Vienna and a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from TU Berlin. She completed her Master’s project within the KIWI-Biolab group, where she continues working as a PhD student. During her studies, she aquired extensive knowledge in teaching and preparation of educational materials.

Currently, she joined the Dig4Bio project, her research focuses on digital tools for the automation and modeling of bioprocesses. A key objective of her work is to enhance education for future engineers by equipping them with essential programming and process automation skills, preparing them for the rapidly evolving biotechnology industry.

Principal Investigator in Bioprocess Engineering, a multidisciplinary field at the intersection of biology, engineering and technology. With a master’s in biotechnology and a PhD in Chemical Engineering (1990), Raquel’s work aims at developing sustainable bioprocessing for the production of biological. Current research interests include the development of continuous separation processes with high performance and efficiency for the purification of biopharmaceuticals, with particular emphasis on antibody purification and the development of lab-on-a-chip devices for protein purification/cell separation at the microscale.

Earned a Bachelor’s in Biology from the University of Coimbra, followed by a Master’s and Ph.D. in Biotechnology from IST, Lisbon. He is an associate professor and coordinator of the Biological Engineering master’s program at IST. His career has predominantly focused on designing and producing plasmid biopharmaceuticals, and more recently in the field of biocementation.

Assistant Professor at the Department of Bioengineering at Instituto Superior Técnico and Principal Investigator at the “Smart Bioprocess Design for Cellular and Molecular Therapies LAB” at iBB. With a PhD in Bioengineering Systems from the MIT-Portugal Program (2011), Ana’s research focus on scalable bioprocess engineering for the production of cells and their derivatives. Her work is characterized by interdisciplinary collaboration, focusing on cost-effective, integrated bioprocess solutions for producing cell and cell-derived products.

Fatemeh Nejati completed her Ph.D. in Applied Food Microbiology at Isfahan University of Technology, Iran, and gained diverse experience through research stays in Italy and Germany, working on various topics in biotechnology. In 2017, she joined the Institute of Bioprocess Engineering at Technische Universität Berlin as a postdoctoral researcher. Since 2024, she has been serving as the project manager for the Berlin Universities Alliance (BUA)-Oxford Research Partnership in STEM disciplines, where she plays a role in facilitating cross-institutional initiatives and advancing scientific collaboration between the two universities.