Paulo Maia began his studies in the computer science arena with a bachelor in Informatics Engineering at the University of Minho, where he developed a special fondness by natural computation and machine learning disciplines. Afterwards, he pursued a master degree in Bioinformatics followed by a Ph.D. in Bioengineering at the MIT Portugal program. In 2010, he helped co-found SilicoLife where he currently heads the Computational Biosystems/Simulation and Optimization (CB/SO) team. He is the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed publications in national and international conferences and journals.

Rational Design of Cell Factories for Competitive Biotechnological Processes

Shifting from chemical to biotechnological processes is one of the cornerstones of 21st century industry. The production of a great range of chemicals via biotechnological means is a key challenge on the way toward a bio-based economy. However, this shift is occurring at a pace slower than initially expected. The development of efficient cell factories that allow for competitive production yields is of paramount importance for this leap to happen. In this talk, Paulo Maia presents a brief introduction to these industrial problems and the approach that SilicoLife follows to tackle them.