Sumlai Lozada Chang -Protein purification – Best Researcher Award

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Sumlai Lozada Chang -Protein purification – Best Researcher Award

Mrs. Sumlai Lozada Chang distinguished academic and researcher in the field Protein purification. 

🌐 Professional Profile

Educations📚📚📚

She completed her undergraduate studies with a Bachelor of Biochemistry (Licenciatura en Bioquímica) from the Faculty of Biology at the Universidad de La Habana in 1993. Later, she pursued postgraduate studies and earned a Master in Science and Technology of Biotechnological Processes (Maestría en Ciencias y Tecnología de Procesos Biotecnológicos) from the Institute of Pharmacy and Food at the Universidad de La Habana in 2015.

Course

She has pursued numerous courses to enhance her expertise. In 1994, she took a course on Biological Safety in Laboratories at Instituto Finlay, followed by a Basic Immunology Course in 1995, and Biometry and Experimental Design at the Faculty of Biology, UH, the same year. She studied Biochemistry of Fermentations in 1996 and attended courses on Protein Structures and Enzyme Immobilization. Between 1996 and 1998, she completed English Level I at Instituto Finlay, continuing to Levels II, III, and IV. In 1999, she attended an Industrial Chromatography Course by A. Pharmacia Biotech in Germany. She also studied Theory and Management Techniques at Instituto Finlay. In 2000, she took an Advanced English Course and a Basic Course on Microcomputer Operation at CENSAI, and studied Protein Purification and Isolation at the Faculty of Biology, UH, along with Ultra-cleanliness and Maintenance of Cleanroom Conditions at Instituto Finlay. She also learned about the Operation Cost System of Plant III, General Aspects of Tangential Filtration, and Biosafety at Instituto Finlay in 2001.

In 2002, she took a course on Good Manufacturing Practices for Biological Products at Instituto Finlay. She studied Philosophy at ISP “E. José Varona” in 2003 and English at CNIC the same year. She learned about the Milli-UF-50 Ultrafiltration System for Purified Water at Instituto Finlay in October 2003 and Technological Modifications for IFA Vaccine Production in 2004. She completed courses on Good Practices for Supervisors, Water in the Pharmaceutical Industry, and Specialist Categorization in Advanced Technology in 2005. In 2006, she took courses on Integral Security and Biosafety, Good Practices for Biological Products, and Good Practices in Documentation at Instituto Finlay. She studied Risk Management at Terra Farma in 2008 and Treatment of Non-Conformities with CAPA Focus at Instituto Finlay in 2008 and 2009.

In 2009, she also took courses on Training in Garment Change in Controlled Environments, Basic Validation Principles for Active Substance Area, Fermentation and Sanitization Operations, and Cleaning and Sanitization of Areas at Instituto Finlay. In 2010, she studied Integrated Management of Biosafety and Quality in Biopharmaceutical Products at Instituto Finlay. She took courses on the Implementation of Monitoring Programs in 2012, Handling and Operation of the AKTAprocess Chromatography System, Personnel Behavior in Classified Areas, Control Charts, and Applying Quality Control Charts at Instituto Finlay. In 2014, she attended a Technical Conference on Filtration and studied Process Validation at Instituto Finlay. She took a Protein Chromatography Course at CIM in April 2015, followed by an Initial Course on Good Manufacturing Practices at CIM in September 2016. Most recently, she attended the International Course of Bioprocess in 2023.

Professional Experience at Instituto Finlay

She has held various key positions throughout her career. From 1994 to 1996, she served as the Shift Head of the Purification Area, overseeing the purification of outer membrane vesicles (VME) of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B. In 1996, she worked as an analyst in the Process Control Department, where she determined the content of proteins, polysaccharides, and lipopolysaccharides, analyzed molecular size by chromatography, and assessed protein expression through SDS-PAGE. From 1996 to 1997, she was the Lead Specialist for the extraction stage of VME. Between 1997 and 1999, she specialized in the purification of capsular polysaccharides, particularly the purification of N. meningitidis polysaccharide C and Salmonella typhi polysaccharide Vi.

In 2000 and 2001, she worked as a Process Analyst. From 2002 to 2004, she was the Head of the Support Group Area, responsible for the preparation of solutions and culture media, including material preparation and sterilization. She became the Head of the Purification Area from 2006 to 2007, where she led the purification of VME of N. meningitidis serogroup B, as well as the purification of N. meningitidis polysaccharides C and A, and Salmonella typhi polysaccharide Vi. She later directed the Department of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Production, focusing on the production of Neisseria meningitidis and Salmonella cultures

📝🔬Publications📝🔬

Marco A. Saraiva – Biophysics – Best Researcher Award

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Marco A. Saraiva – Biophysics – Best Researcher Award

Dr. Marco A. Saraiva distinguished academic and researcher in the field Biophysics. 

🌐 Professional Profile

Educations📚📚📚

He holds a Degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, which he completed in 2000 with a mark of 16/20. In 2008, he earned a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the same institution

Work Experience

He has a diverse and extensive professional experience in the field of chemistry. In 1999/2000, he undertook his final year research project in reaction kinetics and mechanistics at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, under the supervision of Professor Lídia Miguel Pinho Chumbinho de Albuquerque and Professor Maria Luísa Calisto de Jesus Moita, earning a mark of 19/20. During this time, he gained experience in conductimetry and multiparametric analysis. In 2001/2002, he conducted a research project on the reactivity of DNA codified amino acids analogues at the School of Sciences, University of Minho, Portugal, supervised by Professor Hernâni Maia, and gained expertise in reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). From 2003 to 2008, he pursued a PhD in Analytical Chemistry, focusing on mass spectrometry applied to the study of the Maillard reaction at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, under the supervision of Professor Maria Helena Florêncio and co-supervision of Professor Carlos Borges. He developed skills in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and hyphenated techniques such as LC-MS and GC-MS. In 2008/2009, he conducted post-doctoral studies in Molecular Biophysics at the Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University, UK, under the supervision of Dr. Sophie E. Jackson, where he worked with ESI-MS (Q-TOF), absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, isothermal titration calorimetry, capillary electrophoresis, cell culture, and protein purification systems. From 2011 to 2016, he engaged in post-doctoral studies in photochemistry at the Center for Structural Chemistry, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, focusing on the structural and dynamic characterization of early stages in alpha-synuclein fibrillation in the presence of mannosylglycerate, under the supervision of Professor António L. Maçanita

Awards and Honours

He has received numerous grants and honors throughout his career. In 2000, he was awarded the Curricular grant PRODEP III/Measure 3/Action 3.2 from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, for a duration of three months. He then received a PhD grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal, under the reference SFRH/BD/3162/2000. Following his PhD, he was granted a post-doctoral fellowship by the FCT under the reference SFRH/BPD/37016/2007. Later, he received another post-doctoral grant from the Mass Spectrometry National Network (RNEM), Portugal, with the reference RNEM/DGH/022125 in 2018. His professional recognition includes an invitation to become a member of the Royal Society of Medicine (United Kingdom) in 2022. In 2023, he was selected for the “International Young Scientist Awards” under the category of “Best Researcher Award” and was also nominated for Full Membership in Sigma Xi (USA).

Research Interests

His research interests are focused on the study of reaction processes in solution, particularly through the identification, characterization, and monitoring of species formed in physiologically relevant reaction mixtures. He primarily investigates the reaction of specific amine targets with α-dicarbonyls, a key aspect of the Maillard reaction. Additionally, he is interested in probing the fundamentals of electrospray ionization (ESI) mechanisms, exploring the fundamental aspects of ESI mass spectrometric techniques. He is also gaining interests in molecular biophysics, particularly in the study of molecular chaperone systems and α-synuclein, utilizing advanced spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques.

📝🔬Publications📝🔬