Luciana José Ribeiro Pereira

Luciana José Ribeiro Pereira is an active Assistant Researcher at the Department of Biological Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal, where she has been continuously employed since 2008. Her research focuses on environmental biotechnology applications, particularly in bioremediation and wastewater treatment using innovative approaches involving nanomaterials and anaerobic processes. She leads multiple national and international research projects and maintains collaborations with institutions including the Engineering Faculty of Porto University and several Brazilian Universities.

Education:

• PhD in Environmental Biotechnology (2004), Technische Universität Graz, Austria (Marie Curie Fellowship)
• Bachelor's in Biological Engineering (2000), University of Minho, Portugal
• Degree in Nutritional Sciences (2021), Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Dr. Pereira's research interests center on sustainable bioprocesses for environmental applications. She has pioneered work on the application of nanomaterials in biotechnology, particularly examining how carbon-based materials can enhance anaerobic digestion processes for treating industrial wastewater. Her work bridges fundamental microbiology with practical engineering applications, focusing on textile effluents, emerging contaminants, and developing sustainable solutions for water reuse. She has significantly contributed to understanding how conductive materials influence microbial communities involved in methane production.

Her extensive publication record reveals a clear progression from fundamental studies on enzyme mechanisms to applied research on industrial wastewater treatment. Recent work shows increasing focus on emerging contaminants like pharmaceuticals and PFAS, along with innovative approaches using nanomaterials and photocatalysis. She has maintained a consistent output across multiple high-impact journals in environmental engineering and biotechnology.

Dr. Pereira actively supervises PhD and MSc students and has served as Principal Investigator and Co-PI on numerous national and international projects funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and European programs. She participates in course evaluation, manuscript reviewing, and conference organization within her field.

She currently directs the laboratory at the Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, and is involved in multiple collaborative research platforms including BioNEXT (Integrated Platform for Sustainable Biotechnologies and Digital Transition) and the Blue Bioeconomy Hub Platform. Her team works at the intersection of microbiology, materials science, and environmental engineering to develop next-generation bioremediation technologies.