SONIA GOMES | Environmental Science | Women Researcher Award

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Dr. SONIA GOMES | Environmental Science | Women Researcher Award

Academician/Research Scholar Investigadora
👩‍🔬 Sónia Gomes is an accomplished molecular biologist specializing in genetic studies, particularly in agricultural biotechnology and molecular genetics. She is currently an Auxiliary Researcher at the University of Porto, focusing on interdisciplinary marine and environmental research. With extensive teaching experience and leadership in significant research projects, Sónia has contributed notably to genomic studies in olive trees and food biotechnology.

profile

Orcid.org

Education

🎓 PhD in Molecular Genetics (2006-2010): Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal. Thesis: “Genomic Studies in Olea europaea L.: From the Field to the Olive Oil End Product”.
🎓 MSc in Molecular Genetics (2003-2006): Universidade do Minho, Portugal. Dissertation: “Molecular markers for Olea europaea L. cultivars identification”.
🎓 BSc in Applied Biology (1997-2002): Universidade do Minho, Portugal. Thesis: “Effect of growth regulators in plant regeneration of Vitis vinifera L.”.

Experience

💼 Auxiliary Researcher (2023-Present), University of Porto, CIIMAR
💼 Invited Assistant Professor (2022-Present), ICBAS, University of Porto
💼 Research Fellow (2003-2007), OLIV-TRACK project, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

Research Interests

🔬 Molecular Genetics: Expertise in genomic studies of Olea europaea (olive trees) for improving food traceability.
🌊 Marine Biotechnology: Investigating the impact of microplastics and parasites on fish, seafood safety, and environmental sustainability.
🧬 Agricultural Biotechnology: Focused on using DNA markers for plant and food traceability.

Awards

🏆 Blue Bio Value Ideation Award (2023): Oceano Azul Foundation
🏆 NEWFOOD Valorization Award (2021): Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
🏆 OENOPPIA Award (2019): International Research on Wine Development

Publications Top Notes:

📚 Olive oil traceability through DNA markers (2012). Co-author: Martins-Lopes, P. Published in Book.
📖 Nucleic Acids Sample Preparation for Food Traceability (2016). Published in Sample Preparation Techniques for Soil, Plant, and Animal Samples. Springer New York, 2016.
🧬 Olive Tree Genetic Resources Characterization Through Molecular Markers (2012). Published in Genetic Diversity. DOI: 10.5772/32973.
🍃 Olive-Colletotrichum acutatum: An Example of Fruit-Fungal Interaction (2012). Published in Plant Breeding. DOI: 10.5772/27965.
🧫 Occurrence of microplastics in water, feed, and tissues of European seabass (2024). Published in Environmental Research DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.120208.