CRETUS STAFF

Gemma Eibes González

Associate Professor 
Department: Chemical Engineering
Centre: Higher Technical Engineering School (USC)
Research Group: Environmental Biotechnology (BIOGROUP)
Phone: +34 881 816762
Email: gemma.eibes@usc.es
Web: Gemma Eibes | Group of Environmental Biotechnology

   
   

My research has been focused on the design and operation of bioreactors using microorganisms, stem cells or enzymes. The proposal of different configurations, as well as the optimization of the operational conditions in order to enhance the efficiency and modelling of the process have been the main goals of the different research lines I have been involved. The bioreactors find their application in different biotechnology fields such as environmental and biomedical areas and more recently in food or pharmaceutical industry.
Bachelor’s in chemical engineering, I was awarded with an FPI fellowship to perform my PhD studies in the Environmental Engineering and Bioprocesses Group (BioGroup) at USC. During this time, I had the opportunity to join Dr. Cajthaml group in the Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic (Prague) for 2 months (2003) to acquire the analytical skills and learn the protocols for the identification of metabolites by GC-MS, and Prof. Andrew Daugulis’ group, at Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada) for 4 months (2004), who is a pioneer in microbial biphasic reactors, to apply this configuration in a novel enzymatic biphasic reactor. Afterwards, I was awarded with a Postdoctoral grant from the Spanish Government to perform a two-year research stay in the BioEngineering Research Group, in the Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Lisbon. There I initiated a different research line: the production of human stem cells in bioreactors. In 2010 I returned to the BioGroup with a three-year Postdoctoral grant from Xunta de Galicia, which allowed me to combine university teaching with research activities in the enzymatic degradation of emerging contaminants. In 2013 I was granted with another Postdoctoral fellowship from Xunta de Galicia, and we started a collaboration with the NANOMAG group at the USC in the design and operation of reactors with magnetic nanoparticles for the advanced oxidation of pollutants. My full research autonomy was possible from 2015 as the principal investigator of the project INTECOL from the “Proyectos I+D+i jóvenes investigadores” (JIN program, Mineco) aiming to improve the physico-chemical and biological properties of flavonoids by enzymatic transformation. During this period, I was also principal investigator of an ERA-IB2 project, involving 4 different institutions in the EU, aiming to improve the saccharification of organosolv beech wood pulp through the use of new cellulases and ligninolytic enzymes. In 2019 I was awarded as PI of a JIN project (BioFlav-OH), and in 2020 with a Ramón y Cajal fellowship and as PI of a project from the Excellence Program of Xunta de Galicia.

Research Lines

• Use of laccases and peroxygenases to improve the bioactive properties of polyphenolics extracted from residual biomass
• Enzymatic modification of lignin (Kraft and organosolv lignin) to obtain bioadhesives avoiding the use of formaldehyde
• Potential of apple pomace (byproduct from juice and cider industries) as a source of polyphenolics, enzymes and biofuels