Our team

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9431-1648

My current position is Associate Professor in Molecular Biology at the Department of Biology (UniPd). I explore the intricate world of microbial ecosystems, spanning from anaerobic digestion to fermented foods and the human gut. Leveraging my expertise in molecular biology, computation, and microbiology, I delve into the study of microbial populations genomes, evolution, and ecology through cutting-edge ‘omics strategies.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5053-4452

Being in international laboratories, I specialized in molecular biology and microbial ecology to investigate carbon cycling, bioenergy production, and CO₂ capture. As Senior Researcher (RtdB) at the Department of Biology, I’ve advanced bioinformatics for omics, exploring single microorganisms and communities. I study molecular and metabolic mechanisms shaping environmental microbiomes, building metabolic models for process optimization and integrating omics with flux balance analysis.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4518-5913

Physicist and bioinformatician by education, my main interest is to explore, develop, and apply computational techniques to address challenges in molecular systems biology, aiming to cross and overcome disciplinary boundaries. I have specialized in integrating machine learning and constraint-based modeling for determining genotype-phenotype relationships across various ‘omics and organisms and, as a Junior Researcher (RTDa), I am now focussed on studying how those relationships influence both the natural and engineered microbial world.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5912-6148

I am a senior Postdoctoral researcher with over a decade of dedicated experience as an R&D scientist, focusing on food microbiome systems. My expertise spans the realms of basic and advanced microbiology, food Science and technology, as well as environmental and human health microbiomes. My professional journey has taken me through international laboratories and diverse research groups, providing me with a comprehensive understanding of food production correlated to a sustainable supply chain. Besides, there is an interest in exploring interconnections involving genotypes, phenotypes, genomics, transcriptomics, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics of bacteria and yeasts with technological potential.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4899-0915

After finishing my PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, I started a Postdoctoral position at the University of Padova. I am currently focused on unraveling the intricacies of the Biogas upgrading process, employing a combination of metabolic flux balance analysis, metatranscriptomics, and biochemical characterization. Additionally, I investigate the nuanced dynamics within the microbial community through the exploration of phage-host interactions.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0798-8037

I am currently working as a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Padova, focusing on CO₂ fixation by microorganisms and its bioconversion into value-added products. Previously I carried out my PhD at the University of Oxford working on bacterial methane-consuming enzymes and their recombinant expression in plants. My main background is in genetic engineering, microscopy and molecular biology applied to microbial and plant biotechnology processes. 

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3554-2953

I recently finished my PhD in biosciences at the University of Padova. My MSc and PhD were in Environmental Engineering and Bioinformatics, respectively. My recent research focuses on exploring the potential of microbiomes with biotechnological relevance for microplastic degradation and anaerobic digestion. I utilize metagenomics and genomic metabolic modeling for the identification of functionally specific microorganisms and correlation networks. Recently, I’ve developed an interest in data mining for viral and plasmid information based on metagenomics.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3887-737X

I am a Ph.D. student in biosciences at the University of Padova, with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biology and bioinformatics, respectively. My research focuses on exploring the potential of microbiomes with biotechnological relevance for the biogas upgrading process. To disentangle the complexity of the microbial consortium involved in the process it requires fine integration of molecular and bioinformatics approaches. I apply metagenomics and genome scale modeling to define the composition of  microbiomes and reconstruct snapshots of their metabolic interaction.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9443-1597

I have a background in both biotechnology and bioinformatics. I am currently a Ph.D. student at the school of Biosciences, University of Padova, working under the CooCE European project. I work on the optimization of a bioprocess which employs the bacterium Cupriavidus necator to capture the CO₂ in biogas and convert it to polyhydroxyalkanoates. I perform growth trials to test several aspects of the bioprocess in lab-scale and I integrate biochemical data with genomic and transcriptomic experiments. I am also curating a strain-specific model of C. necator DSM 545.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9948-9986

I am a Ph.D. student in biosciences at the University of Padova; I have a master’s degree in Computational Biology and a bachelor’s in Biotechnology. My research is focused on applying machine learning techniques to bioactive peptides and more in general on microbial genomes, in order to find hidden features that could help with the identification of new functions. I also have experience in metagenomic techniques and transcriptomics.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6600-4272

I am a PhD student in biosciences at the University of Padova, holding a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in molecular biology. My current research focuses on exploring the potential of microbiomes with biotechnological relevance using advanced genomics and transcriptomics strategies. Specifically, I investigate the interconnection between the performance and stability of anaerobic reactors in biofuels production, delving into the microbiome composition and its evolution influenced by environmental parameters. 

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2407-8643

I am a Ph.D. student in biosciences at the University of Padova with a master’s degree in Molecular Biology and a bachelor’s in Genomics. My current research aims to integrate machine learning techniques and metagenomic analysis to investigate the environmental adaptation skills of microorganisms, exploring genetic variants as drivers for adaptation.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1074-7341

I am a Ph.D. student in biosciences at the University of Padova. I have a MS degree in Molecular Biology and a BS degree in Biology. My research is focused on investigating the characteristics of different S. cerevisiae strains for wine production, exploring the effect of polymorphisms, gene content variation and gene expression through bioinformatics.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0152-4570

I am a Ph.D. student in biosciences at the University of Padova; I have both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology. My research is focused on the improvement of biotechnological processes through the management of the microbial communities performing them. For this purpose, I apply various bioinformatic methods.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8428-6559

I am a Research Assistant at the University of Padova. I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and Master’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology, with a thesis on the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates by Cupriavidus necator in response to physiological stress for carbon dioxide capture. Currently, my research revolves around anaerobic communities. I employ single-cell methods to facilitate genomic and transcriptomic studies at the individual organism level within mixed microbial communities

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7312-4392

I am a Research Assistant at the Department of Biology (UniPd), with a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in molecular biology. My current research is focused on the characterization of microbial consortia for the production of biogas using next-generation sequencing techniques.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2597-9158

I am a Research Assistant at University of Padua. I achieved my Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and Master degree in Industrial Biotechnology. During my internship I worked on bioplastic production through a microorganism called Cupriavidus necator that can convert carbon dioxide into polyhydroxybutyrate, a renewable polymer. In particular the study focused on mutant strains that can acquire an increased phenotype. Now I continue this work and I start work also on anaerobic bacteria that can produce biomethane.

I’m a student of the University of Padua. I have a bachelor degree in Biotechnology and I’m completing a master in Data Science (biological curriculum). I’m in Genomics and Bioinformatics research unit of the Biology Department for an Internship, during this period I’ve worked on machine learning learning models for try to discover new proteins associated with plastic degradation with a particular focus on PET.

I’m a student at the University of Padua majoring in Biology and currently pursuing a master’s degree in Evolutionary Biology. For my internship, I am working with the bacterium Cupriavidus necator as part of the European CooCe project with the aim of obtaining PHA from volatile fatty acids and carbon dioxide.

I am a master’s student in Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Padua. Before that, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Messina, with a thesis on the genotyping of C. tropicalis. Currently, I am working on a metagenomic database-driven investigation of carbon dioxide methanation in the context of the european LIFE project.

I am studying Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Padua. For my internship, I am working with single-cell sequencing as part of the UniPD STARS project SIGMA with the purpose of studying simple and complex microbial consortia.

I am a master’s student of Molecular Biology with a focus on the Bioinformatics track at the University of Padova. I am currently working on my internship, where my research is directed towards the development of machine learning techniques to explore the functional roles of microbial species within complex microbial communities.

I am a Master’s in Molecular Biology candidate at the University of Padua, currently focused on my thesis research which explores the behavior of a carbon-fixating microbial community when exposed to syngas. With a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, I have acquired professional experience in Molecular Infectology while working in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My academic pursuits in Padua aim to deepen my expertise in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics.

I am an international student from Indonesia and I enrolled in the Molecular Biology Master’s Program at the University of Padua. For my thesis internship, I am currently exploring the bacteriophages and their relation with the overall anaerobic digestion microbial community.

I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Food Biotechnology at the University of Padua, where my research thesis is centered on developing a process for the production of polyphosphates as a natural food additive and an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic production methods. To achieve this, I am working on databases, allowing me to work on mutations related to phosphate metabolism and transport at the gene level. Additionally, I am studying the effects of these mutations on the protein profiles of these yeast strains by prediction models.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2461-5221

With a background in biology and bioinformatics, I was awarded my PhD in Bioscience (genetics, genomics and bioinformatics) at University of Padova (Italy) in 2022. My main area of expertise is a computational approach called Flux Balance Analysis, used to analyze the complex metabolism of bacteria and the network of interactions participated by microbial species. In order to quantitatively study microbiomes, I combine Flux Balance Analysis with other bioinformatics and statistical approaches. I am currently a research associate at MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge (UK).

Additional information can be found at: https://ariannabasile.wordpress.com/

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8841-1047

I worked in the Metabioinfomics laboratory from 2018 to 2022, first completing a Master’s Degree in Evolutionary Biology and later earning a Ph.D. in Biosciences. My work focused on characterizing the viral community of anaerobic digestion and its interaction with the microbiome. An avid user of informatics and bioinformatic tools, I currently work as a postdoctoral researcher in the Pharmacology and Brain Pathology Lab at Humanitas Research Hospital (Milan, Italy), where I work on transcriptomics and data analysis in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5597-8554

Graduated in Biomedicine at Paulista University (2011-2016) and earned a Phd. in Genetics and Molecular Biology at Campinas University (2017-2022), my doctoral research centered on characterizing resistance and stress genes within microbiomes from islands in the Maritime Antarctica, involving extensive metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses. Subsequently, I served as a research fellow (Post-Doc: 2022 – 2023) in the Biology Division at the University of Padua – Italy, contributing to diverse national and international projects. As a co-owner, I actively engage as a Researcher specializing in amplicon analysis, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and machine learning at the Brazilian firm MicrobiomeX

Additional information can be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vb-Centurion

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1544-7230

I currently serve as a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Padova, specializing in the microbial enzymatic degradation of plastics. My research has strongly focused on biotechnology of plants and microorganisms. I completed my master’s degree in Plant Biotechnology at University of Sassari, Italy. I later moved to Valencia, Spain, where I worked at IMBCP in the field of plant synthetic biology. I then relocated to Australia, where I pursued my Ph.D. at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. My doctoral research centered on metabolic engineering, protein expression, and systems biology of cyanobacteria.