Speakers

Kristel Sniegowski graduated at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering KU Leuven and obtained her PhD degree in 2010 in the field of environmental microbiology. She lectures at the Faculty of Engineering Technology KU Leuven at the campus in Diepenbeek, Belgium and is a guest professor at the University of Hasselt. She coaches students in industrial research projects regarding microbiology, molecular biology and/or food technology. KU Leuven.

Paulien Leemans is a teaching assistant and PhD student at the Faculty of Applied Engineering at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. In 2021, she obtained her Master’s degree in Bioscience Engineering: Cell and Gene Technology (University of Ghent). She is now pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ir. Iris Cornet (University of Antwerp) and Prof. Dr. Ir. Evelyne Peeters (VUB) in the field of industrial biotechnology and (molecular) microbiology. Her teaching subjects include biochemistry, microbiology, gene technology and beer brewing.

Charlotte Saussez has been working in the biotechnology research unit of HELHa since 2011. After studying industrial engineering in biochemistry at the HELHa engineering school, she first worked as a researcher on projects related to the brewing industry. In particular, the development of analytical methods to detect traces of detergents in beer or in the integration of plant extracts in beer and the study of their aging. For the past six years, she has been dividing her time between her activities at the research center and her activities as teacher in the technical field of the HELHa.

Aurélie Semoulin is a graduate industrial engineer in biochemistry from the HELHa engineering school. She was then directly involved in teaching at HELHa (2016) in the fields of biotechnology, genetics and analytical chemistry.

Iris Cornet is professor at the faculty of Applied engineering at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Her expertise is in Industrial Biotrechnology and Bioprocess Engineering. She leads the research in industrial biotechnology in the research group BioWAVE. In this research, wild type but also genetically modified microorganisms are used for the production of chemicals from waste streams.

Julia Weiss is associate professor and researcher at the School of Agricultural Engineering and Institute for Plant Biotechnology of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain. She studied Agricultural Engineering at Bonn University, Germany and obtained her PhD from Ben-Gurion University, Israel. Research fields include: genetic programs under circadian regulation of plant organ development with emphasis on volatile production. 

Marcos Egea Gutiérrez-Cortines is full professor and researcher at the School of Agricultural Engineering and Institute for Plant Biotechnology of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain. He obtained a degree in Biology from University of Murcia, Spain and a PhD Ben-Gurion University, Israel. He is the director of the Institute for Plant Biotechnology (IBV-UPCT). Research fields include: plant biotechnology, flower development.

Rita Pacheco is a professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISEL), Portugal. Her expertise is in Bioengineering.  She is a graduate in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Sciences in the University of Lisbon were she also obtained her PhD. She is also a researcher that currently is involved in the extraction, analysis and identification of bioactive molecules and the evaluation of its properties and effects in human metabolism. 

Boris Gilis is a PhD student at the Faculty of Applied Engineering at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. He started his PhD in 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ir. Iris Cornet in the field of industrial biotechnology. His research focuses on the biochemical conversion of waste into valuable chemicals, using yeast as a biocatalyst.

Professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Merseburg