Steering Committee

EUSynBioS is led by a Steering Committee, composed of synthetic biology experts and enthusiasts. We are passionate about making a difference and we want to promote awareness about the positive impact of Synthetic Biology, as well as strive to build a community of like-minded people in Europe.

Currently, the EUSynBioS Steering Committee has twelve members. New members are selected by the old members of the Steering Committee and assigned a function for the length of a two-year term. Active areas are: Management, Social Media & Content, PR & Communication, Funding & Industry and Entrepreneurship.

You can find a list of the current Steering Committee members below.

Meet the Steering Committee

Paola Handal

Chair
KU LEUVEN, BELGIUM

Paola Handal

Paola is a PhD student at KU Leuven in Belgium. She is working under the supervision of Professor Vitor Pinheiro. Her main focus is automating and optimising techniques for the directed evolution of xeno-nucleic acid (XNA) polymerases. She is also developing computational methods for Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) data analysis to accelerate protein engineering. She is also interested in using SynBio for bioremediation and developing eco-friendly alternatives to everyday essentials.

Jose Eduardo Escrig Molina

Vice-Chair
UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA, SPAIN

Jose Eduardo Escrig Molina

Jose Eduardo is a synthetic biology scientist who currently works at the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (i2SysBio) and the Centro de Investigación Principe Felipe (CIPF) in Valencia, Spain. He received his Master of Science degree in Systems and Synthetic Biology from the Université Paris Saclay in 2022. Jose is currently pursuing two parallel projects. The first project involves the single-cell timelapse microscopy analysis of bacterial biosensors. The second project focuses on the cellular control of the epithelial to mesenchymal transformation (EMT). Jose plans to start his PhD in the coming years to further develop his professional career in Synthetic Biology. His main interests lie in the application of SynBio to the medical field and entrepreneurship. Jose is passionate about using his expertise to make a positive impact in the world and looks forward to making significant contributions in his field.

Louis Marlow

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, UK

Louis Marlow

Louis is a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Dr Stephen Wallace’s group. The lab’s research focuses on sustainable synthesis of important industrial chemicals from renewable feedstocks by interfacing engineered microorganisms with biocompatible catalysis. Previous to his PhD Louis worked for industrial biotechnology company Ingenza for four years where he engineered various bacteria (E. coli, B. subtilis, P. putida) and yeast (S. cerevisiae, P. pastoris) for sustainable production of diverse fine chemicals and high-value proteins. He specialised in development of high-throughput and automated engineering strategies. Louis is interested in the development and application of new biological technologies, synbio investment and connecting scientists across Europe.

Santiago Chaillou

KU LEUVEN, BELGIUM

Santiago Chaillou

Santiago is a PhD student at KU Leuven, Belgium, working under the supervision of Prof. Vitor Pinheiro. Before starting his doctoral studies, he worked for four years in the R&D sector of a company developing biological indicators for sterlization control. Currently, his research focuses on engineering RNA-RNA loop interactions, selecting novel xenobiotic nucleic acid aptamers, and writing computational prediction models to simulate wet-lab aptamer selection processes. Whithin his main intrests, he is enthusiastic about creating new biotech tools that will contribute to the establishment of safer, more efficient, and greener industrial products and processes.

Sonia Mecacci

WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY,
THE NETHERLANDS

Sonia Meacci

Sonia is a MSc student in Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology at the Wageningen University and Research. She joined the WUR iGEM team 2022, where she firstly met the Synthetic Biology world. During her master thesis she worked on biosafety and microbiome engineering for diagnostic purposes, while at the moment she is still working on microbiome engineering but for therapeutic purposes. She aims to continue her career in academia in Synthetic Biology as she thinks that this field has the potential to help transitioning to a more sustainable future and improving the fields of therapetics and diagnostics.

Guillermo Nevot

UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA, SPAIN

Guillermo Nevot

Guillermo Nevot is a PhD candidate at Marc Güell lab in Universitat Pompeu Fabra, where he studies how to domesticate skin bacteria to create genetically enhanced probiotics. Graduated in Biotechnology from the University of Zaragoza and with a Master in Quantitative Biology from the University of Paris, Guillermo has a deep interest in the field of synthetic biology which took him to do research at international centres like the Pasteur Institute or the University of Warwick. He is also engaged in science education and communication, participating as a jury and mentor in the iGEM competition and publishing outreach articles in magazines like The Conversation or Jot Down. He joined EuSynbioS to promote Synthetic Biology transformative power and improve European policies towards its wide application.

Sofía Jiménez Ochoa

I2SysBio, CSIC, SPAIN

Sofía Jiménez Ochoa

Sofía is an associate researcher in De Novo Synthetic Biology group in I2SysBio, Valencia. She uses engineered bacteriophages in Phage-Assisted Continuous Evolution. This has several applications, such as the evolution of molecules towards a new functioning or the change of tropism in bacteriophages to widen/change host specificity. She is passionate about molecular biology and has been familiar with synthetic biology since her participation in iGEM 2021 with the Groningen Team. She wants to bring professionals of the field together to share concerns and results, as well as develop tools to make results more accessible.

Içvara Barbier

Treasurer
UNIVERSITY OF LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND

Içvara Barbier

Içvara is a PhD student in the group of Prof. Yolanda Schaerli at the University of Lausanne. His research focuses on the formation of spatiotemporal pattern with synthetic gene regulatory networks. Through a bottom-up approach, his work highlights core molecular patterning mechanisms of development biology, strongly contributing to the construction of self-assembling synthetic living tissues and materials.

Joana L. Rodrigues

Secretary

UNIVERSITY OF MINHO, PORTUGAL

Joana L. Rodrigues

Joana L Rodrigues is a Post-Doc researcher at Centre of Biological Engineering and an Invited Assistant Professor at Biological Engineering Department from University of Minho since 2019. She received her MSc in biological engineering in 2010 and her PhD in Bioengineering Systems (MIT-Portugal Program) in 2014 from the University of Minho. During her PhD, she was a visiting student for one year at the Prather Lab, where she worked on the design and construction of a biosynthetic pathway for the production of curcuminoids in Escherichia coli. Since then, she has been working in synthetic biology field. Currently, her research interests include the use of synthetic biology tools to construct biosynthetic pathways for the production of therapeutic and industrially relevant compounds. She is also involved in the use of metagenomic approaches to identify novel enzymes and bioactive molecules, and in the development of cancer and pathogen detection biosensors and anti-adhesive biomaterials using synthetic biology approaches.

Rosa-Maria Määttälä

KU LEUVEN, BELGIUM

Rosa-Maria Määttälä

KU LEUVEN, BELGIUM

Rosa-Maria Määttälä

Rosa is a PhD researcher at KU Leuven in Prof. Vitor Pinheiro’s group in Belgium. Her current research focuses on the development of standard tools to facilitate the engineering of non-model microorganisms, with the goal of making genome engineering endeavors more predictable and accessible to a broader range of microorganisms. Since her undergraduate studies, she has been involved in SynBio projects ranging from genetic code expansion in wild-type bacteria to the directed evolution of novel protein therapeutics. Rosa is interested in promoting collaboration and connectivity within the European synthetic biology community and beyond.

Catarina Almeida

Cambridge, UK

Catarina Almeida

Catarina currently works as a research technician in Plant Synthetic Biology in Cambridge, UK. Her journey into Synthetic Biology began during her undergraduate studies and was further fueled by her participation in the iGEM competition. Today, she is passionate about leveraging biotech solutions to promote sustainability, playing a role as a research technician in plant science projects aimed at addressing pressing environmental challenges.

Stefano Grasso

LESAFFRE, FRANCE

Stefano Grasso

Stefano is a synthetic biology scientist working at the biofoundry of Lesaffre (Lille, FR) since July 2022. Priorly, he was a post-doc at the Biocomputation group at the Center for Biotechnology and Genetics of Plants (CBGP) in Madrid, working on automation and Pseudomonas putida. Until 2019 he was a Marie Curie PhD candidate (ProteinFactoy consortium) in the Netherlands, at Groningen University and DSM B.V., researching protein sorting and secretion in Bacillus. In addition to his research topics, Stefano is interested in entrepreneurship of SynBio products, in DIY development and integration of automated tools, and in the legislative framework for biotechnological applications.

Uriel Barboza Perez

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, UK

Uriel Barboza Perez

Uriel is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh's Center for Engineering Biology. His current research focuses on studying bacterial electrophysiology using single-cell microscopy techniques and biosensor technology design using synthetic biology tools. He first became interested in synthetic biology when he joined his first iGEM team in 2014, and he has since been involved in a number of activities that promote the use of synthetic biology as a tool for developing sustainable biotechnologies. In 2017, he was named a 'Leader of Tomorrow' by the Global Biotech Revolution and was also recognized by Allbiotech as one of the '100 Young Leaders of Biotechnology' shaping the Latin American biotechnology landscape. Aside from his primary research interests, he is also interested in developing enabling tools that promote the development of a global bioeconomy, the democratisation of biotechnology, and utilizing biotechnology to address issues concerning the environment and food production system.

Cathal O’Reilly

University of Manchester, UK

Cathal

Cathal is a PhD student in the Scrutton lab at The University of Manchester. His work focuses on the use of ML/AI for the engineering of terpene synthases. He first got involved in synbio research during his Master's in synthetic biology & biotech at the University of Edinburgh, where he was part of their overgraduate iGEM team. He is also interested and engaged in promoting scientific collaboration and innovation, demonstrated by his work as the co-managing director of the Manchester chapter of Nucleate UK.

Faustina Martha

UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER, UK

Uriel Barboza Perez

Faustina, currently a master's student in Science and Health Communication at the University of Manchester, made her mark in synthetic biology through iGEM competitions. Her projects included the effectiveness of Modified Salmonella typhimurium A1-R Strain Secreting Buforin IIb in Eradicating Cervical Cancer (2015), HIV vaccine backbone modification (2016), and B. subtilis 168 modifications for reversible contraception using substilosin (2023). Despite her non-technical background, she joins the EUSynbioS committee to bridge the gap between science and policy, fostering innovation and progress in the field.

Varun Tadimarri

Leibniz Institute, Germany

Varun Tadimarri

I am PhD researcher at Leibniz institute for new materials, Saarbrücken (Germany) in group of Bioprogrammable Materials. The lab's research focus is to explore the genetic programmability of probiotic bacteria to create smart microbes. My PhD project involves engineering bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli Nissle) to secrete therapeutic proteins, then encapsulate these bacteria in biocompatible polymer matrices to make drug releasing 'Living Therapeutic Materials'. My research interest is to further explore the native proteins of probiotic/ commensal bacteria and their beneficiary potential to develop next generation Pharmabiotics which could be cost-effective and patient friendly.

Valentin Hammoudi

Science Writer and Communicator

Valentin Hammoudi

Valentin Hammoudi holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Amsterdam. He then worked as a researcher in the Applied Genetics Department at Freie Universität Berlin. during this time, he developed and patented an innovative technology for easy and large-scale molecular farming, which he leveraged to develop a biotech startup. After having left academia, he shortly served as Deputy Head of the Science and Technology Office at the French Embassy in Germany, to promote research and innovation cooperation between France and Germany. He is also deeply committed to science communication and outreach. He has authored a book, delivered a TEDx talk and Ted-Ed animations, and written numerous blog articles, all aimed to make science accessible and engaging to the public. He joined EuSynBio in 2024 to bridge the gap between science and policy, an essential link whose importance is often underestimated. Through this role, he seeks to enhance the impact of synthetic biology on society by fostering dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and the public.

Our Alumni

Over the years our Steering Committee has been run by talented researchers all over Europe, determined to promote synthetic biology across the continent

Meet them!