Maria F. Duran works as a Process Engineer in the Fermentation and Recovery team at ABPDU. She focuses on the development and optimization of microbial processes for the production of biofuels and bioproducts using a variety of host microorganisms. Within her current role, she is responsible for scaling up from bench to 300L pilot scale, product recovery, and data analysis. Prior to joining the team, Maria was a researcher at the Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology Lab at the City University of Hong Kong, where she engineered methanotrophic bacteria for the production of industrial bioproducts. Among others, she studied the potential of co-cultures using methanotrophic and methylotrophic strains to transform methane into value-added products.
Maria received her MSc. in Agricultural Microbiology within the Department of Microbiology at the Federal University of Viçosa. The focus of her graduate research was the genetic manipulation of non-conventional yeasts for bioethanol production using dairy wastes as a feedstock. She previously worked at the Environmental Microbiology Lab at Universidad del Valle, where she established an anaerobic biological system for the production of natural gas.
Education
- MSc. in Agricultural Microbiology, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Professional Experience
- Researcher, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology Lab, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Researcher, Microbial Physiology and Molecular Biology Lab, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
- Intern, School of Natural and Environmental Resources, Universidad del Valle, Colombia