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 Mecacci
Sonia discovered SynBio during her MSc while joining her university iGEM’s team, and got fascinated by how people have found smart and cool ways to apply Biology! SynBio, for her, it is the perfect example of merging Biology with Applied Sciences. She is now pursuing a PhD at the Wageningen Univesity, where she is working on the development of microbial biosensors for pollutants. Besides, she is keen on learning more about technology trasfer as well as the broader implication of Science and Ethics. And, of course, Sonia is also very interested in Science Communication!
Head of Communication Team
Maria Victoria Bussoletti
Biotechnologist by training, she discovered SynBio 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.
Social Media Manager - LinkedIn
Communication Team memberAnchita Sharma
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.Her broader interests include science communication, emerging synthetic biology tools, and the design of programmable biological systems..
Joana Rodrigues
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.
Communication Team member