The following video, the second installment in the “Meet our team” series, features researchers from the International Centre for Research on Innovative Bio-based Materials (ICRI-BioM) and the Institute of Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology at the Lodz University of Technology (TUL) who discuss their diverse roles within the project.
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The Fungal Bioluminescence Laboratory (LBF) from the University of São Paulo focuses on studying bioluminescent systems, environmental metagenomics, and introducing useful genes into microorganisms to make them perform specific tasks. In the HELVA project, the LBF team is responsible for isolating and engineering certain bacteria strains capable of producing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), biodegradable polymers that have the potential to replace petrochemical plastics. Their approach combines field sampling of bacterial strains from ecosystems like the Atlantic Forest with laboratory-based genetic engineering to enhance microbial PHA production. For the first chapter of the “Meet Our Team” series, we have interviewed Prof. Cassius Vinicius Stevani, leader of the LBF team, to learn more about their research and expectations and contributions to the HELVA project.
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William Mawuko Kodzo Siegu, researcher from Lodz University of Technology (TUL) and member of the HELVA project team, participated in the Biocatalysis Conference for Biological Transformation Along Renewable Value Chains (Biocat4Value), held from November 18 to 20, 2024, in Düsseldorf, Germany. At the conference, Siegu presented a poster outlining the progress of his current research project on a preculturing strategy to improve the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) using sodium acetate as the sole carbon source.
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HELVA project coordinator Prof. F. Pelayo García de Arquer, leader of the CO2 Mitigation Accelerated by Photons research group at ICFO, received the ‘Felisa Martín Bravo‘ National Research Prize for Young researchers. In particular, he received the prize in the area of Physics, Materials and Earth Sciences, specifically for his pioneering and interdisciplinary contributions to the fields with relevant applications in the generation of clean energy and the development of optoelectronic elements
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Furnas and Grande are the names of two ponds located in a mountain region near the city of Iporanga (state of São Paulo, Brazil), in the vast area of Atlantic Forest. A team of researchers from University of São Paulo (USP), and members of the HELVA project, conducted a fieldwork sampling campaign in those two ponds in December 2023.
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Project HELVA was selected in the Joint Transnational Call 2022 of M-ERA.NET 3, which is an EU-funded network of about 49 funding organisations (Horizon 2020 grant agreement No 958174). The project is funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain); National Science Centre (NCN, Poland); São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Brazil).