iBB

The project "CardioWheel: Upscaling the Production of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Cardiomyocytes using Vertical-Wheel Bioreactors" has been recommended for funding by FCT (2017 Call for SR&TD Project Grants). The goal of CardioWheel is the application of bioreactor technology for human Pluripotent Stem Cell expansion and cardiomyocyte differentiation in a single process, culturing cells in suspension in the novel single-use Vertical-Wheel Bioreactors. These bioreactors will be characterized using computational fluid dynamics and this knowledge will be used to scale up the culture. The generated cells will be tested for functional and pharmacological activity to demonstrate their applicability in drug discovery and regenerative medicine. The project, which falls within the scientific area of Chemical Engineering, is headed by Carlos Rodrigues and Joaquim Cabral from SCERG-iBB.

The project "MicroControl: Exploiting the healing capacity of nature´s microbiomes for improved fish larviculture" has been recommended for funding by FCT (2017 Call for SR&TD Project Grants). The goal of MicroControl is to develop multi-species cocktails of beneficial fish symbionts to prevent bacterial disease incidence during fish larval rearing, a stage at which fish individuals are highly susceptible to acute outbreaks that pronouncedly impact land-based rearing of hundreds of economically important species. The team will conduct larval rearing trials under “microbiome therapy” to address the effectiveness of the approach in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), the third most cultivated fish species worldwide. The project, which falls within the scientific area of Biological Sciences, is headed by Rodrigo Costa from BSRG-iBB and involves a collaboration with Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera.

Photo details: Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) larva, from Sara I.C. Castanho, “The potential of Asparagopsis armata to control the bacterial load associated to live feed to improve Seabream (Sparus aurata) larvae performance”, MSc Thesis., Algarve University, Portugal, June 2014.

The project "LactoSynt: Lactic Acid Bacteria as Cell Factories: a Synthetic Biology Approach for Plasmid DNA and Recombinant Protein Production" has been recommended for funding by FCT (2017 Call for SR&TD Project Grants). The goal of LactoSynt is to engineer lactic acid bacteria and plasmid vectors in order to develop a flexible platform for biomolecule production. Applications in the pharmaceutical field (DNA vaccines, recombinant proteins) are envisaged. The project, which falls within the scientific area of Medical Biotechnology, is headed by Gabriel Monteiro from BERG-iBB and Leonilde Moreira from BSRG-iBB.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable macromolecules produced as reserve materials by bacteria.  PHAs have the potential to replace the main polymers in the plastic market as long as price competitive production processes are developed. The goal of the project "AlgaePlas", which has recently been recommended for funding by FCT, is to use seaweed residues after hydrocolloid extraction, or whole seaweed with no current industrial applications, as novel sugar platforms for PHAs production by marine bacteria. The project, which falls within the scientific area of Industrial Biotechnology, is headed by Teresa Cesário from BERG-iBB and involves collaboration with the University of Minho. The proposal "AlgaePlas: Seaweed biorefinery for the upgrade of carbohydrates to sustainable bioplastics" was submitted in the context of the 2017 Call for SR&TD Project Grants.

The project "CBM-X: Biorecognition as a Tool for the Functionalization of Cellulose-based Materials with Biomolecules and Nanostructures" has been recommended for funding by FCT (2017 Call for SR&TD Project Grants). The goal of CBM-X is to develop biomolecular constructs for the precise modification of cellulose matrices with nanostructures and/or biomolecules, and for the anchoring of nanocellulose onto a range of materials. The project, which falls within the scientific area of Materials Engineering, is headed by Miguel Prazeres from BERG-iBB and involves a collaboration with the company NZYTech.

Cerebellar ataxias are characterized by progressive neurodegeneration of the cerebellum. Current knowledge about the disease is based on postmortem studies and animal models that do not fully recapitulate the features of human ataxias. The development of disease models is thus an important unmet medical need. The goal of the project "CEREBEX", which has recently been approved for funding by PORLisboa, is to generate 3D cultures of mature cerebellar neurons to investigate ataxia mechanisms and therapeutic strategies. The project, which falls within the scientific area of Medical Biotechnology, is headed by Joaquim Cabral from SCERG-iBB and involves the collaboration with the Institute for Molecular Medicine. The proposal "CEREBEX - Generation of gene-edited cerebellar organoids for ataxia research" was submitted in the context of the 2017 Call for SR&TD Project Grants.