Academic CV

Work Experience

May 2025 - Present

Postdoctoral Associate: Doyle Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA)

Novel injectable hydrogel microparticles to enable the delivery of biomacromolecules.
Co-formulation strategies for high-dose subcutaneous delivery of monoclonal antibodies using microfluidics.

March 2024 - Present

Postdoctoral Associate: Myerson Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA)

Crystallization and precipitation as novel downstream purification strategies for biomacromolecules.
Continuous crystallization of therapeutic full-length monoclonal antibodies with in-line analysis, automation, and AI-based image analysis tools.
Understanding of crystallization and precipitation states and respective kinetics estimation for process control optimization.

September 2022 - February 2024

Lecturer: Faculty of Engineering (University of Porto, Portugal)

Taught Fluid Mechanics course for two semesters.
Designed for two separate courses – Physics and Chemical Engineering undergraduate programs.
Developed weekly exercise sessions and an exercise book with solutions.
Built midterms and final exams and provided the respective grading.

Education

October 2016 - December 2020

Joint/Dual PhD degree

Doctor of Engineering Science - Chemical Engineering: KU Leuven (Belgium)
Doctor of Chemical and Biological Engineering: University of Porto (Portugal)

Thesis title: Protein crystallization in

droplet-based microsystems

Design and characterization of droplet-based microfluidics: Fluid dynamics and transport phenomena analysis.

Experimental approaches: Advanced microscopy and image analysis.
Numerical simulation approaches: Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Investigation of biomolecule behavior in solution.

Understanding proteins' phase behavior: Crystallization kinetics, phase diagram limits, and pulsed sonication.
Development of experimental protocols and design of new crystallization conditions.

September 2011 - July 2016

Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering Integrated Masters' Program: University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering (Portugal)

Thesis title: Numerical analysis of transport processes in a microfluidic device for bacteria confinement

Collaboration between academia and industry.
Numerical work conducted at the University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Portugal.
Experimental work developed at EMPA – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Switzerland.

Extracurricular project: Study of the transient state in a tubular reactor with a packed bed of glass spheres and in a continuously stirred tank reactor: Experimental and simulation approaches.