Ligia Raquel Marona Rodrigues

Lígia Raquel Marona Rodrigues is an Associate Professor with Habilitation at the University of Minho (UM), Portugal, where she serves as Vice Dean of the School of Engineering and President of the Pedagogical Council. She is also Associate Director of the Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB) and former Head of the Department of Biological Engineering (2018-2022). Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from UM (2005), a Habilitation from UM (2017), and postdoctoral work at UM, IPATIMUP (University of Porto), and University of Lund (2006-2007).

• Research Focus: Synthetic biology, cancer diagnostics, functional food, biosurfactants, and bioprocess development.
• Leadership: Directed the MSc in Technology and Food Science (2014-2019), co-founded spin-off companies in Life Sciences, and evaluates for Horizon Europe and other funding bodies.