Team


Romana Santos, Group Leader 

Romana Santos (PhD) is a Principal Investigator at MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, where she founded and is leading the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry research group. Romana Santos also teaches Animal Biology II and Marine Biology at the Animal Biology Department, Sciences Faculty of the University of Lisbon.  At her group she follows a multidisciplinary approach to better understand marine bioadhesion and has been developing biomimetic adhesives to be used in biomedical and biotechnological applications.

CV | email: rlasantos[at]ciencias.ulisboa.pt

ORCID | LINKEDIN | SCHOLAR | RESEARCHGATE 

 

Inês Ventura, PhD student, Biological Sciences | Biotechnology  – ongoing

Between October 2020 and February 2021, Inês Ventura conducted a Master in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Coimbra, performing her thesis at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre) and Cláudia Pereira (Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra). Her thesis aimed at characterizing glycoproteins involved in sea urchin adhesion.

In December 2021 Inês started her PhD in Biological Sciences – specialization Biotechnology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. She will perform her thesis at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre), the Protein Misfolding and Amyloids in Biomedicine Group under the supervision of Bárbara Henriques (BioISI – Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute) and Laboratory of Marine Organisms and Biomimetism under the supervision of Patrick Flammang (Biosciences Institute, University of Mons, Belgium). Her thesis aims to identify adhesive proteins common to different species of sea urchins that behave like functional amyloids,  and demonstrate the outperformance of biomimetic adhesive amyloids with respect to commercial biological adhesives, establishing the proof of principle for future biomedical and biotechnological applications.

email: iventura[at]ciencias.ulisboa.pt | LINKEDIN | RESEARCHGATE 

 

João Moreno, PhD student, Biological Sciences | Evolutionary Biology – ongoing

Since February 2020, João Moreno is conducting a PhD in Biological Sciences – specialization Evolutionary Biology at the University of Lisbon, performing his thesis at the Evolutionary Genetics Group under the supervision of Vitor Sousa (cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes) and at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre). His thesis aims at uncovering the molecular basis of adaptation in species distributed along a climatic gradient: linking genomes and proteins to environment.

email: jmmoreno[at]ciencias.ulisboa.ptORCID | RESEARCHGATE 

 


Samra Majoka
, Master student – ongoing

Since September 2021, Samra Majoka is conducting a Master in Marine Ecology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, performing her thesis at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre). Her thesis aims at performing a morphological, biochemical, ecological and taxonomic analysis of the reversible adhesion of sea urchins from the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

email: fc49194[at]alunos.ciencias.ulisboa.pt | LINKEDIN

 

ALUMNI

Mariana Santos, MSc Biochemistry (2023)

Between September 2022 and November 202, , Mariana Santos conducted a Master in Biochemistry and Biomedicine at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, performing her thesis at the Protein Misfolding and Amyloids in Biomedicine laboratory under the supervision of Bárbara Henriques (BioISI – Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute) and at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre). Her thesis aims at understanding the importance of the different discoidin-like domains in the adhesive functions of Paracentrotus lividus nectin.

email: fc52690[at]alunos.ciencias.ulisboa.pt

 

Érica Mocho, Internship (2022-2023)

Between September 2022 and July 2023, Érica Mocho performed an internship at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos and Inês Ventura (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre). 

email: fc52883[at]alunos.ciencias.ulisboa.pt

 

Pedro Costa, Internship (2022-2023)

Between September 2022 and July 2023, Pedro Costa performed an internship at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos and Inês Ventura (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre).

email: fc50813[at]alunos.ciencias.ulisboa.pt

 

André Fernandes, MSc Biochemistry (2022)

Between September 2020 and March 2022, André Fernandes conducted a Master in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, performing her thesis at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre) and at the Protein Misfolding and Amyloids in Biomedicine Group under the supervision of Bárbara Henriques (BioISI – Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute). His thesis aims at studying functional amyloids through the structural analysis of a sea urchin inspired adhesive protein.

email: fc55090[at]alunos.fc.ul.pt

 

Inês Gonçalves, Internship (2021-2022)

Between September 2021 – April 2022, Inês Gonçalves performed an Internship at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre).

email: fc52665@alunos.fc.ul.pt | LINKEDIN

 

Gonçalo Mota, Internship (2021-2022)

Between November 2021 – March 2022, Gonçalo Mota performed an Internship at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre).

email: goncalo.mota4@gmail.com | LINKEDIN

 

Lisa Gaspar, MSc Biochemistry (2021)

Between September 2020 and January 2021, Lisa Gaspar conducted a Master in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, performing her thesis at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre). Her thesis aimed at performing an interspecific analysis of the adhesive composition from several sea urchin species. read more

email: lisamrgaspar[at]gmail.com | LINKEDIN

 

Lucas Hille, Master student (ERASMUS – 2020)

Between February 2020, and July 2020 Lucas Hills conducted a research project at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre).

 

 

Joana Batista, MSc Biochemistry (2020)

Between September 2018 and January 2020, Joana Batista conducted a Master in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, performing her thesis at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre) and Ana Viana (CQE – Centre for Structural Chemistry). Her thesis aimed at producing a recombinant sea urchin- inspired adhesive protein and testing its adhesion to different substrates. read more

 

 

Mariana Simão, MSc Biochemistry (2019)

Between September 2018 and October 2019, Mariana Simão conducted a Master in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, performing her thesis at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre). Her thesis aimed at characterizing the glycans involved in sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus reversible adhesion. read more

LINKEDIN

 

Mariana Moço, BSc Evolutionary and Developmental Biology (2018)

Between September 2018 and June 2019, Mariana Moço worked as a researcher at the Bioadhesion and Biomimicry Research Group, under the supervision of Romana Santos (MARE – Marine and Environmental Research Centre).