Mariela Mezzina Post-doctoral Researcher 
Working in getting Pseudomonas putida in shape for efficient bioproduction towards a sustainable future!
About Me
I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina and I got my Bachelor degree in Molecular Biology and my Ph.D. degree in Biological Chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires. I have always been interested in finding a green alternative for petroleum-based industry, focusing my work on the use of bacteria as cell factories for the production of value-added bioproducts. During my Ph.D., I worked in the field of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), biodegradable polymers produced in bacteria with countless applications in the material industry. My research was funded by the National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET). I focused on studying the structure and role of a phasin, a protein that binds intracellular PHA granules and that promotes polymer synthesis. Part of this work was performed in the Center of Biological Research (CIB-CSIC) in Madrid, Spain, where I did a training stay funded by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). I then received a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Strategic Research Topics from CONICET to work in engineering Escherichia coli for the production of biofuels and biochemicals. In addition to my researcher career, I have also been working as a teaching assistant in graduate courses of the Department of Biological Chemistry of the University of Buenos Aires. I moved to Copenhagen in 2019 to join the SEM group after receiving a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biotechnology-based synthesis and production Research from The Novo Nordisk Foundation. I continue with my efforts to develop environmentally-friendly bioprocesses towards a sustainable industry — now as a SEMster!