Communication Team
The Communication team focuses on empowering the European SynBio community by sharing relevant news via social media and the newsletter as well as share and disseminate inspiring SynBio stories.
Sonia is a PhD candidate at the Wageningen University (Netherlands). While mainly working on the development of microbial biosensors, she is fascinated by many aspects of SynBio and how it potentially could help us tackling some important issues, such as climate change. Science and education brought her to experience and live in 4 different counties, which allowed her to discover so many interesting cultures!
Sonia Mecacci - Team Leader
sonia.mecacci@eusynbios.org
Aoife is a PhD student in Engineering Biology at the University of Oxford. She holds a BSc in Biochemistry from University College Dublin. She has previously conducted research at UC Berkeley, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Copenhagen. Her current research focuses on experimental and computational enzyme engineering for developing new methods for controlled biologics production. She is a member of the EUSynBioS communications team and contributes to the society’s blog. She is also a leader at Nucleate UK.
Aoife McLoughlin - Blog writer
aoife.mcloughlin@eusynbios.org
Joana L Rodrigues (JLR) is an Assistant Professor at the Biological Engineering Department, University of Minho. JLR has 14+ years of experience in synthetic biology. She holds an MSc in Biological Engineering (2010) and a PhD in Bioengineering Systems (MIT-Portugal Program, 2014) from UM. During her PhD in collaboration with MIT, she spent 1 yr at the MIT Prather Lab. After the PhD, JLR worked at Centre of Biological Engineering (UM) as a Postdoc (2015-2018) and Junior Researcher (2019-2023). Her research interests include the use of synthetic biology tools to construct biosynthetic pathways for the production of therapeutic and industrially relevant compounds. JLR joined the EUSynBioS Steering Committee and collaborated with ValleyDAO and iGEM communities, engaging with academics, industry and entrepreneurs. These efforts culminated in co-founding SynBioLinkPT, an initiative to build the Portuguese SynBio community.
Joana Rodrigues - Coms coordinator
Daniela Filipa Correia Gomes is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB) at the University of Minho - Portugal. In May 2025, she obtained her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Minho. She previously worked as a research fellow on several research projects.
Her research interests focus on synthetic biology, microbial biotechnology, and the development of innovative biological systems for health and biotechnology applications.
Daniela Gomes - Instagram manager
daniela.gomes@eusynbios.org
joana.rodrigues@eusynbios.org
noel.gonsalves@eusynbios.org
Anchita is a PhD student at INRAE Jouy-en-Josas in collaboration with the University of Paris-Saclay and the University of Valencia. Her research focuses on engineering multicellular synthetic circuits, with a particular emphasis on CRISPR interference–based regulation. Previously, she has worked in areas spanning genetic engineering, bioprocessing, microfluidics, etc.
Anchita Sharma - Newsletter writer
Noel holds a Master’s in Biology from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. His thesis focused on the characterisation of a plant carbohydrate receptor via expression in yeast and binding affinity assays using fluorescence microscopy. He likes writing and talking about science, particularly biology, to anyone who asks and/or will listen. He wants to build himself as a science communicator, especially within the field.
Noel Gonsalves - Blog writer
anchita.sharma@eusynbios.org
Biotechnologist by training, she discovered synthetic biology by chance during her Erasmus in Barcelona, an experience that reshaped her academic path and ultimately led her to pursue a PhD at Imperial College London. Her research, done within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie SYNSENSO Doctoral Network, centres on expanding the cell-free protein expression toolbox. A strong sense of curiosity, paired with the urge of mixing powders and liquids since early childhood, continue to fuel her enthusiasm for science. Her research has taken her to more than 5 countries so far, exposing her to diverse research environments, cultures and people, strengthening her love for the SynBio field.
Maria Victoria Bussoletti- Linkedin manager
mvictoria.bussoletti@eusynbios.org