Marcel Vieira-Lara Group

Organisms come in all different shapes and sizes, encompassing a vast array of metabolic strategies and pathways. Our research group delves into these strategies, drawing inspiration from nature's designs to harness their potential for sustainable applications.

At the heart of my research lies a curiosity about the intricacies of metabolic processes. Our team will explore energy transduction processes within (industrially-relevant) organisms and address fundamental questions such as: How do energy conversion strategies differ across organisms? To what degree is this coupled to the make-up and activity of respiratory chains? How is the distribution of (macro)molecules regulated within the cell?

What we learn in terms of host organisms, energy conversion targets and tools for assessment serves as a foundation for industrial applications. We are currently exploring the field of protein transition (rebalancing between animal and alternative proteins in diets), the use of alternative feedstocks in biotechnology, as well as metabolic engineering strategies focused on yield improvement.

Our approach to scientific challenges is rooted in a systems biology perspective. We integrate information at the level of genes, proteins, metabolites, and fluxes, investigating how these components are controlled under physiological and industrially-relevant conditions. For this, we make use of both experimental and computational approaches to get a quantitative understanding of cellular physiology. We work closely with an outstanding group of scientists at the Industrial Microbiology section and the Department of Biotechnology, fostering a culture of interdisciplinarity, diversity and collaboration.

Feel free to reach out if you are looking for a position, or if you would like to explore potential collaborations in the field of bioenergetics and quantitative biology applied to biotechnology.