Maria Barbosa appointed Chair Holder of Bioprocess Engineering

Barbosa has spent many years exploring the potential of microalgae. These microscopic organisms can be used to produce a wide range of useful substances, including proteins for food, oils for industry and ingredients for cosmetics. With the right modifications and processes, researchers can use microalgae for example to produce fish oil, tropical oils, and plant proteins. This could make it possible to produce these resources locally, reducing dependence on imported raw materials and easing pressure on ecosystems.

Barbosa’s research focuses on how to grow and use these photosynthetic micro-organisms as efficiently as possible. “You can grow algae almost anywhere, but the challenge is to get them to produce useful compounds efficiently for society,” she explains. This requires a combination of biology and process engineering. Researchers need to understand how cells respond to their environment, as well as what happens when a process is scaled up from a small reactor to an installation holding hundreds of cubic metres. In a large reactor, for example, differences in light and nutrient availability can affect cell growth and production.

As Chair Holder, Barbosa intends to maintain most of the Bioprocess Engineering chair group’s existing research lines. The group has grown considerably in recent years, and she now wants to consolidate that growth and strengthen collaboration within the team. “I think it is important that people enjoy coming to work, feel heard and have the freedom to pursue new research directions,” Barbosa says. She wants to lead by example by being honest and transparent. She also wants to foster an open working environment where staff and students feel free and safe to discuss science and other topics, and put forward their ideas and opinions in a respectful way. There must also be room to make mistakes, Barbosa believes: “We need to be able to experiment and explore new directions without expecting every attempt to be successful straight away.” This way, Barbosa hopes to create an environment where people feel motivated and can continue to develop as scientists.

In terms of research, Barbosa sees opportunities to further develop digitalization, including artificial intelligence, in bioprocess engineering. She also wants to strengthen research in biopharmaceutical biotechnology, because it is a relevant sector for The Netherlands, but also because of the strong interest students have in this field. The latter is another challenge for the coming years: to increase the number of students enrolling on the bachelor’s programme in Biotechnology. Working with the programme director, Barbosa plans to raise the programme’s profile by giving young researchers a more prominent role at open days and other promotional events, organising visits to secondary schools and providing information for their teachers. “People often do not realise what biotechnology can do, or how important it is for sustainability and food security,” she says. 
In addition, Barbosa wants to contribute to a better positioning of Wageningen University & Research in engineering in life science, as part of the 4TU, a strategic alliance between the four leading universities of technology in the Netherlands.

Barbosa obtained her MSc in Food Engineering from the Catholic University of Porto and completed her PhD in bioprocess engineering at WUR in 2003. After conducting research at INRA (France), ETH (Switzerland), IBET (Portugal), EMBO (Germany) and the University of Bergen (Norway), she returned to Wageningen in 2008 to establish a research group in microalgal biotechnology. She played a key role in developing AlgaePARC, a research and pilot facility to translate fundamental research into applications. Here, researchers can develop and scale up microalgae-based processes. In 2015, Barbosa joined the Bioprocess Engineering chair group, and in 2019 she was appointed Professor of Microalgal Biotechnology. In February 2027, she will take over as Chair Holder of Bioprocess Engineering, succeeding René Wijffels, who will retire in January 2027.