Maria Teresa Cesário

assistant researcher

K-6713-2014

Web of Science profile

iBB Group: 2brg

teresa.cesario@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Expertise: Bench-scale bioreactors operation, Microbial bioplastics production, Polyhydroxyalkanoates extraction and purification, Biomass cascade biorefinery, Macroalgal protein extraction,

Short Bio:

I'm a scientific researcher committed to use bioprocesses to manufacture bioproducts and promote circular bioeconomy. With a degree in Chemical Engineering- branch biotechnology from IST (1989) and a PhD from Wageningen University, Netherlands (1997), I now focus on using renewable biomass to manufacture biological products through biotechnology. Employing biorefinery methods, I extract and utilize various fractions, adopting a zero-waste approach. Initially using terrestrial biomass for biodegradable bioplastics, I've shifted to marine biomass like algae, bacteria, and invertebrates. Through biorefinery, I convert carbohydrates into bioplastics and biochemicals with the help of marine bacteria, while the protein fraction is used to create bioactive Alternative Proteins for food and feed.

Research Focus:

Alternative proteins from microbial fermentation of non-conventional marine sources; Development of green extraction processes for biomass fractionation; Operation of bioreactor systems towards higher productivities of bioplastics and organic acids.

PROMISEANG -Alternative Proteins from microbial fermentation of non-conventional sea sources for next-generation food, feed and non-food bio-based applications (Horizon-JU-CBE-RIA-2022- 101112378).

BLUE BIOECONOMY PACT- Project cofounded by Next Generation EU European Fund, under the incentive line “Agendas for Business Innovation” within Component Funding Scheme 5 – Capitalization and Business Innovation of the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP)(Project Nº. C644915664-00000026)

SMARTSEAWEED- Smart Valorization of Macroalgae (FA-05-2017-033- DGPM-PT). http:// www.smartseaweed.net

ALGAEPLAS- Seaweed biorefinery for the upgrade of carbohydrates to sustainable bioplastics (FCT- PTDC/BII-BIO/29242/2017).

BUGWORKERS- New tailor-made PHB-based nanocomposites for high performance applications produced from environmentally friendly production routes (FP7/2007-2013 nº 246449).

Leandro, T., Teles, M., Gomes-Dias, J.S., Marques, M., Rocha, C.M.R., da Fonseca, M.M.R. and Cesário, M.T, (2023) Ulva rigida valorization into poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), organic acids and functional ingredientes. Mar. Drugs 21, 537. https://doi.org/10.3390/md21100537

Suarez-Garcia, E., Miranda, C.F., Cesário, M.T., Wijffels, R.H., van den Berg, C. and Eppink, M.H.M. (2023). Ionic liquid-assisted selective extraction and partitioning of biomolecules from macroalga. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 11, 1752-1762. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c05823

Bondar, M., Pedro, F., Oliveira, M.C., da Fonseca, M.M.R. and Cesário, M.T. (2022), Red algae industrial residues as a sustainable carbon platform for the coproduction of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate and gluconic acid by Halomonas boliviensis. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 10:934432. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.934432

Gordalina, M., Pinheiro, H.M., Mateus, M., da Fonseca, M.M.R. and Cesário, M.T. (2021) Macroalgae as Protein Sources: A Review on Protein Bioactivity, Extraction, Purification and Characterization. Applied Sciences 11 17: 7969. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177969

Cesário, M.T., da Fonseca, M.M.R., Marques, M.M., de Almeida, M.CM.D. (2018). Marine algal carbohydrates as carbon sources for the production of biochemicals and biomaterials. Biotechnol Adv. 36: 798-817, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.02.006

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Maria Teresa Cesário