Core Members
CLARA ARANTES
PhD student
I am a Ph.D. student in the Doctoral Program in Molecular and Environmental Biology at the University of Minho, supported by a research fellowship from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). I hold a Master’s degree in Molecular Genetics from the University of Minho (2024) and a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences – Genetics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ, 2022).
During my Master’s studies, I expanded my international and technical expertise through an Erasmus+ mobility fellowship at Imperial College London, focusing on advanced molecular biology techniques, including primer design, molecular gene cloning in Escherichia coli, plasmid transfection into mammalian cell lines, and confocal microscopy. My Bachelor’s research focused on the bioinformatics analysis of mitochondrial genomes from 70 South Atlantic fish species, which contributed to a publication in an international peer-reviewed scientific journal.
My current research focuses on environmental biotechnology, specifically leveraging marine bacteria to optimize the production of biosurfactants and conducting bioprospecting initiatives for the discovery of novel bioactive microbial molecules. Throughout my academic trajectory, I have developed multidisciplinary skills spanning biotechnology, molecular genetics, and bioinformatics, with a strong commitment to scientific innovation and international collaboration.
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