Joana Rodrigues

Joana Rodrigues is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biological Engineering (DEB) at University of Minho (UM), Portugal. She has been actively involved in academia since 2014, progressing from Teaching Assistant and Invited Assistant Professor positions to her current faculty role since January 2024. She is also the Executive Director of the Molecular and Synthetic Biology Platform Laboratory (PBMS) from 2017-2025 and the Sustainable Bioprocesses and Bioproducts Laboratory (LBBS) since 2025.

Dr. Rodrigues completed her Integrated Master in Biological Engineering in 2010 and her PhD in Bioengineering Systems in 2014 at University of Minho in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). Her postdoctoral work was conducted at the Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB) at UM from 2015-2018, followed by a Junior Researcher position from 2019-2023.

Her research focuses on synthetic biology approaches for the production of valuable compounds, particularly in microbial cell factory development for natural products biosynthesis. Her work spans

• Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• Production of polyphenols, flavonoids, and prebiotics
• Development of microbial cell factories for chondroitin and curcumin production
• Synthetic biology applications in bioprocess engineering

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on combinatorial biosynthesis approaches for producing high-value compounds like prenylated flavonoids, curcumin, and chondroitin. Her work demonstrates expertise in both bacterial (E. coli, Zymomonas mobilis) and yeast (S. cerevisiae) platforms, with applications ranging from food ingredients to biopharmaceuticals.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• 4 travel grants to prestigious synthetic biology conferences
• Diplomas of recognition for scientific publications (2021, 2022)
• Selection for IMFAHE's Platform of Talent 2023-2024
• BBF Scholar Travel Award and AOARD Travel Grant for SB7.0 conference

Dr. Rodrigues has supervised or co-supervised 1 post-doc, 3 PhD students, 11 master students, and numerous bachelor students and research grantees. She has been involved in 10 projects funded by FCT and European Commission, including FoSynBio, LIGNOZYMES, and VIBRANT. She serves on the Steering Committee of EUSynBioS (European Synthetic Biology Society) and is a co-founder of SynBioLinkPT, the Portuguese Synthetic Biology Association.

She leads the Molecular and Synthetic Biology Platform Laboratory and Sustainable Bioprocesses and Bioproducts Laboratory at CEB, where her team focuses on developing microbial cell factories for producing valuable compounds through synthetic biology approaches.