M. Catarina M. Dias de Almeida

(Post-Doc)

Status at Centre for Biological and Chemical Engineering:

·     Post-Doctoral  Research fellow at the Environmental and Ecoprocess Engineering Research Group

 Education:

·        PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering, UM, Portugal , 2005

·        MSc in Biological Engineering, UM, Braga , Portugal , 1997

·       Graduation in Chemical Engineering, FEUP, Porto , Portugal , 1994

  Positions:

· (2006 - …)  Associate Professor at the Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde Egas Moniz (ISCSEM), Monte da Caparica.

· (2006 - … ) Post-Doctoral researcher at the Environmental and Ecoprocess Engineering Research Group – research project entitled Polyhydroxyalcanoates production using industrial wastes” under the supervision of Prof. Manuela R. da Fonseca (UTL), IST, UTL, Lisbon , Portugal .

· (1996 - 2005) Invited Assistant Professor at ISCSEM, Monte da Caparica.

· (1999 - 2005) PhD. student, research theme: “Pectinase production by continuous yeast cultures”, under the supervision of Prof. Pedro Moradas-Ferreira (ICBAS,UP) and Prof. José A. Teixeira (UM), Department of Biological Engineering, University of Minho , Braga , Portugal .

· (1994 – 1997) MSc. student, research theme:Protein purification using Aqueous Two-Phase Systems” under the supervision of Prof. José A. Teixeira (UM), Department of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.

· ERASMUS student – "Séchage sous vide; differents modes d’apport de chaleur", under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Rodolphe Puiggali, Université de Pau et des Pays de L’Adour, Pau , France .

On-going Research Activities:

·   Microbial biopolymers (namely PHA) production using low-value substrates from industrial wastes

·   Polyhydroxyalcanoate extraction methods  design and optimization

·    Fed-batch bioreactor operation – control, optimization and scale-up

Other Interests:

·       Food Safety and Technology  

            ·       High cell density bioreactors

·       Downstream processing        

·       Yeast molecular biology        

Grants:

 ·     Post-Doc Scholarship from “Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia" (SFRH/BPD/26678/2006)

 ·     PhD Scholarship from “Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia" (SFRH/BD/18203/1998)

 ·     MSc Scholarship from “Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia" (SFRH/BM/6707/1995)

 Teaching Activities (at ISCSEM):

·     Heat and Mass Transport Processes

 ·     Unit Operations

  ·     Bioengineering

Publications:

Maria Catarina Marques Dias de Almeida, 2005, “Produção de Pectinase Utilizando Culturas Contínuas de Leveduras”, PhD Thesis, University of Minho. 

Maria Catarina Marques Dias de Almeida, 1997, Purificação de uma Proteína Recombinante por Partição Bifásica Aquosa Msc Thesis, University of Minho.

 

Cavalheiro, J.M.B.T., Almeida, M.C.M.D., Grandfils, C., da Fonseca, M.M.R., “Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production by Cupriavidus necator using waste glycerol”, Process Biochemistry, 44, 5, 509-515, 2009.

Almeida, C., Brányik, T., Moradas-Ferreira, P., Teixeira, J., “Use of two different carriers in a packed bed reactor for endopolygalacturonase production by a yeast strain”, Process Biochemistry, 40, 5, 1937-1942, 2005.

Almeida, C., Brányik, T., Moradas-Ferreira, P., Teixeira, J., “Continuous Production of Pectinase by Immobilized Yeast Cells on Spent Grains”, Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, 96, 6, 513-518, 2003.

Almeida, C., Queirós, O., Wheals, A., Teixeira, J., Moradas-Ferreira, P. “Acquisition of flocculation phenotype by Kluyveromyces marxianus when overexpressing GAP1 gene encoding an isoform of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase”, Journal of Microbiological Methods, 55, 2, 433-440, 2003.

Almeida, M. C., Venâncio, A., Teixeira, J. A., Aires-Barros, M. R., “Cutinase purification on polyethylene glycol / hydroxypropyl starch aqueous two phase systems”, Journal of Chromatography B, 711, 151-159, 1998.

Venâncio, A., Almeida, C., Teixeira, J. A., “Enzyme purification with aqueous two-phase systems: comparison between systems composed of pure polymers and systems composed of crude polymers”, Journal of Chromatography B, 680, 131-136, 1996.

Venâncio, A., Almeida, C., Domingues, L., Teixeira, J. A., “Protein purification on a derivative guar gum based aqueous two-phase systems”, Bioseparation, 5, 253-258, 1995.

 

Almeida, C., Brányik, T., Teixeira, J.A., "Continuous production of pectinase by immobilized yeast cells on spent grains", "4th European Congress of Chemical Engineering", 21–25 September 2003, Granada, Spain, 2003.

Almeida, C. Brányik, T., Moradas-Ferreira, P., Teixeira, J.A., Vicente, A.A. "Comparative analysis of immobilization carriers for a endopolygalacturonase producing yeast strain", "30th International Conference of Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering", 26-30 May 2003 Tatranské Matliare, Slovakia, 2003.

Almeida, C., Venâncio, A., Aires-Barros, M. R., Teixeira, J. A., Cutinase Purification on Polyethylene glycol-Hydroxypropyl Starch Aqueous Two-Phase Systems, “10th International Conference on Partitioning in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems”, Reading, England, Abstract Books, 1997.

Baillon, B., Marques Dias de Almeida, M. C., "Séchage sous vide : analyse en termes d’apport energetique; avantages d’un apport micro-ondes". "Les techniques électriques et la qualité du séchage", "9ème Colloque Université/Industrie", 16 June 1994, Bordeaux - Talence , France , 1994.

Research fellow in the project “Bioproduction” ("Sustainable Microbial and Biocatalytic Production of Advanced Functional Materials") – European Research Project (start date: 1st September 2006).

Almeida, C., Cavalheiro, J. M., Fonseca, M. M., “Bacterial Polyesters from Waste Glycerol – Product Properties and Search for Novel Applications”, 1st I.B.B. Scientific Meeting, Faro, Portugal, May 2009.

Ottevaere, M., Lespineux, D., Sevrin, C., de Almeida, M.C.D., Cavalheiro, J., da Fonseca, M.M.R., Grandfils, C., "Physico-chemical characterization of new polyhydroxyburates (PHB)", "The Life Science Summit - Biomedica 2009", Liège, Belgium, April, 2009.

Almeida, C., Cavalheiro, J., Rodrigues, C., da Fonseca, M., "Production of Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate from Waste Glycerol", "International Workshop on Biomacromolecules", Stockholm, Sweden, June 2008.

Almeida, C., Cavalheiro, J., da Fonseca, M. M. R.,"Polyhydroxybutyrate Production from Waste Glycerol”, "4th European Symposium on Biopolymers", Kusadasi, Turquia, September 2007.

Almeida, C., Brányik,T., Moradas-Ferreira, P., Teixeira, J.A., “Continuous production of pectinase by immobilized yeast cells on spent grains”, "4th European Congress of Chemical Engineering", Granada, Spain, 2003.

Almeida, C., Brányik, T., Moradas-Ferreira, P., Teixeira, J., "Comparative analysis of immobilization carriers for an endopolygalacturonase producing yeast strain", "30th International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering", Tatranské Matliare, Eslováquia, May 2003.

Dias de Almeida, C., Queirós, O., Wheals, A., Teixeira, J.A., Moradas-Ferreira, P., “Acquisition of flocculation phenotype by Kluyveromyces marxianus when overexpressing GAP1 gene encoding an isoform of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase", "XIII Congresso Nacional de Bioquímica", Lisboa , Portugal , December 2002.

Dias de Almeida, C., Queirós, O., Wheals, A., Teixeira, J.A., Moradas-Ferreira, P., “Induction of flocculation in Kluyveromyces marxianus by overexpression of the GAP1 gene”, "10th European Congress on Biotechnology", Madrid , Spain , July 2001.

Dias de Almeida, C., Teixeira, J.A., Moradas-Ferreira, P., “Induction of flocculation in Kluyveromyces marxianus by overexpression of the GAP1 gene”, "XII Congresso Nacional de Bioquímica", Póvoa do Varzim, Portugal, September 2000.

Baillon, B., Marques Dias de Almeida, M. C., "Séchage sous vide : analyse en termes d’apport energetique; avantages d’un apport micro-ondes". "Les techniques électriques et la qualité du séchage", "9ème Colloque Université/Industrie", Bordeaux - Talence , France , June 1994.

Contacts:

Telephone: +(351) 21 8419132;

Fax:+(351) 218 419 062

E-mail : Catarina Almeida

 

Last updated, Saturday, 18 July 2009