Patricia Calero Valdayo

Patricia Calero Valdayo is a Post-doctoral Researcher at The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, where she develops Pseudomonas putida-based cell factories for halogenated compound production within Pablo Iván Nikel's SEM research group.

Her academic foundation includes:

• B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Pablo de Olavide University, Seville
• M.Sc. in Industrial, Environmental and Food Biotechnology from Pablo de Olavide University
• Ph.D. in Biotechnology from DTU's Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability

Dr. Calero's research bridges metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to reprogram P. putida for biohalogenation. Her work pioneers genetic tools for fluorine incorporation into organic molecules, advancing sustainable production of high-value organofluorines used in pharmaceuticals. This requires deep understanding of microbial metabolism, pathway optimization, and stress tolerance engineering in non-model bacterial hosts.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship during doctoral studies

As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Calero drives projects funded through the SEM group's institutional support at DTU. While not currently supervising students, she contributes to training through collaborative research. Her work leverages the SEM group's expertise in biofilm dynamics and microbial metabolism to solve bottlenecks in halogenated compound synthesis.

The SEM research group provides specialized infrastructure for P. putida engineering, including genetic toolkits, fermentation systems, and analytical platforms for halogenated metabolite detection. Current efforts focus on expanding the biocatalytic repertoire for diverse halogenation reactions while improving host strain robustness.