The Cyanobacterial Natural Products research team studies the fascinating secondary metabolism of an important group of photosynthetic microbes: Cyanobacteria. Using a highly multidisciplinary approach, ranging from NMR spectroscopy to genome sequencing, and a blend of discovery- and hypothesis-based science, lab members investigate the chemistry, biosynthesis and ecology of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites. The team is particularly focused on studying compounds that contain fatty-acid residues and on the unusual enzymes that modify them, and on the discovery of secondary metabolites using genome-informed strategies.
The novel compounds unearthed by the Cyanobacterial Natural Products team are evaluated in terms of biological activity, in particular their pharmacologically- and ecologically-relevant properties. These efforts are part of CIIMAR’s Blue Biotechnology effort to add value to the biological diversity found in our oceans.
Pedro Leão is Principal Investigator and ERA Chair Holder in Blue Biotechnology and Bioengineering at CIIMAR, where he leads the Research Line in Marine Biotechnology and is the head of the Research Group “Cyanobacterial Natural Products”. He graduated in Biochemistry from the University of Porto in 2005 and went on to receive his MSc (2006) and PhD (2010) degrees from the same university. He undertook postdoctoral studies at CIIMAR, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Harvard University. He became an “FCT Investigator” in 2015 and started his group at CIIMAR in 2018 after receiving an ERC Starting Grant. His research focuses on the chemistry, biosynthesis and chemical ecology of cyanobacterial natural products.
I hold a MSc in Crop Science with a specialization in Applied Plant Physiology and Biotechnology of Microorganisms from Agricultural University of Athens. I am currently pursuing a degree in marine biotechnology in EU-CONEXUS and doing my dissertation at the CNP. My dissertation is about the pathway deciphering and eco-physiological relevance of new fatty-acid incorporation system in cyanobacteria.
Amaranta Kahn studies cyanobacterial fatty acid incorporation and its implication on aquatic ecology in cyanobacteria. She obtained her PhD degree (2019) in molecular biology and biochemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Ed Bayer) and in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Yannick Bomble). Her current research interests include molecular microbiology, biochemistry, metabolomic and lipidomic analysis. Amaranta is an extreme sport lover and, in her leisure time, she enjoys camping and dancing with friends.
Ana Vieira graduated in Biosciences from the School of Biotechnology (2009) and completed a Master’s degree in Microbiology at the same institution (2011). She worked as a researcher at IBMC (2011–2013) and obtained a PhD in Medical Microbiology from Kingston University, London (2014–2017). In 2018, she joined the CNP group at CIIMAR as a lab manager and became a junior researcher in 2021 until present, focusing on ecological chemistry and the discovery of natural products from cyanobacteria.
Anne Liong, originally from Germany, completed her MSc at RWTH Aachen University in Molecular and Applied Biotechnology, Germany in 2019. Currently she is a FCT PhD student in the Cyanobacterial Natural Products (CNP) team within in the frame of the Biomedical Sciences doctoral program at ICBAS, University of Porto. Her research project includes the deorphanization of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) from cyanobacteria and focuses on the discovery of new fatty acid-harboring natural products and their underlying biosynthesis and enzymology. Anne has multidisciplinary expertise in mass spectrometry analysis, molecular cloning, protein expression and natural products isolation.
With a degree in Biology by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), in 2020, I'm currently studying for a master’s degree in Functional Biology and Biotechnology of Plants, also at FCUP. My project in Ciimar involves the discovery of cyanobacterial natural products using mass spectrometry.
Cristina Sousa has completed her Bsc degree in Biochemistry in 2023 by the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS). In the same year, she began her Master’s in Biochemistry at FCUP/ICBAS. Currently, she is working on her master’s thesis with the CNP group, focusing on understanding fatty acids metabolism in cyanobacteria.
Daria Reba is a motivated student from Croatia, currently completing her final internship to earn her Master’s degree. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Split, she began an exciting journey across Europe, mainly driven by a desire to find the right direction for her future career. Now pursuing a Master’s at the University of Amsterdam, Daria has already completed an internship at the University of the Azores, where she worked on interactions between phytoplankton and marine bacteria. It was there that she discovered a passion for microbiology and laboratory work—fields that once felt far beyond her comfort zone. The Azores offered her, not only just professional experience, but the warm community and breathtaking hikes that sparked a deep appreciation for Portuguese culture. Following a brief collaboration with Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), during which she wrote a literature review on cold-water corals, she realized her true interest still lies in marine microbiology. Throughout her studies, Daria has also remained active in various artistic hobbies and sports. Yet, no matter where life has taken her, she has always felt most fulfilled by the sea.
Diana has a degree in Biochemistry (2017) and a MSc in Applications in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology (2022) by the University of Porto. Currently, she is a Master Student Fellow for the PROPELLER project in the Cyanobacterial Natural Products team. Her work is manly focused on the heterologous expression of cyanobacterial biosynthetic gene clusters derived from uncultured specimens to uncover new secondary metabolites. Recently, she started to work also in protein expression and purification.
Eunice has a scientific background in developing synthetic biology tools and optimizing cyanobacterial chassis for the production of added-value compounds. She carried out bachelor and master studies at CIIMAR and i3S (University of Porto), respectively. She worked as a visiting researcher at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Japan) and, after that, she carried out doctoral studies at i3S with a stay at Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain). Eunice joined the CNP team under the BlueBio4Future ERA Chair grant as research technician in microbial genetics and molecular biology.
BSc in Biology, MSc in Cell and Molecular Biology, PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology Applied to Health Sciences (University of Porto).
Francisco Camacho has a degree in Biochemistry and is presently enrolled in the Master’s in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. He will be working on his dissertation at CNP, focusing on the discovery of natural products linked to the interactions between cyanobacteria and amoebae.
I’m currently an MSc student at the University of Algarve, enrolled in the Master in Marine Biology and I’m doing my master’s thesis research within the project “CyanoBOX – Beta-oxidation in cyanobacteria”. Throughout my research career, I have done multiple internships in Portugal, namely at Centre for Functional Ecology (University of Coimbra), Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE, Figueira da Foz), CCMAR (Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve), and, most recently, I was awarded a research fellowship that allowed me to explore the impacts of climate change on eastern Mediterranean reef species and communities in Haifa, Israel.
João Reis has graduated in Biochemistry by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. His journey at CIIMAR began during his MSc degree (Cell and Molecular Biology, FCUP) after joining the CNP group to develop his MSc thesis. During this period, he also enrolled as a Research Technician for the HALVERSITY project. After completing his MSc he joined the FattyCyanos project as a Researcher. Now, in is PhD he focuses on the biosynthesis of cyanobacterial natural products and enzymatic catalysis.
João Pereira has completed his degree in Biochemistry in 2020 by University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro and currently, he is working on his master’s thesis in Applications in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology, from Faculty of Science of University of Porto. His research is focused on the Discovery of RiPPs and new enzymes from Cyanobacteria.
Bioinspired researcher with MSc in Bioengineering (Faculty of Engineering from the University of Porto) and a strong background in molecular biotechnology. Focused on the use of cyanobacteria as platforms for the production of relevant bioproducts. Hands-on experience in lab and large-scale cultivation of cyanobacteria, microbial genetic engineering techniques, and the isolation/application of cyanobacterial-derived compounds in several relevant areas. After working as a Research Fellow at i3S and as a contracted researcher at Allmicroalgae company he is currently a PhD student, developing his project focused on the use of extracellular vesicles from cyanobacteria as an antigen-delivery platform for oral vaccination of fish at i3S and CIIMAR.
Kathleen Abt graduated from the University of Hamburg, Germany with a BSc (2013) and MSc (2016) in Molecular Life Sciences. She joined the CNP group in 2018 and is currently working on her PhD thesis on the structure and biosynthesis of polyhalogenated fatty acid compounds from cyanobacteria.
Konrad Viehrig graduated obtained his PhD at Saarland University in 2016, with the thesis topic “Genome Mining for Natural Products in Chondromyces crocatus”. As a postdoc, he joined the research group “Synthetic Biology tools for Yeast” at CfB/DTU in Copenhagen, Denmark. Later, he he worked in the group “Natural products from Actinobacteria” at UF/Scripps in Florida. In 2022, he joined CNP at CIIMAR for natural products discovery, enzymology and biocatalysis as part of the BB4F project
Mariana Moutinho has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology (2019) and a Master’s degree in Applications in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology (2021) from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP). Recently, she joined the CNP team under the BlueBio4Future project, as Research Technician in Biomass/Bioprocess, with the main goal of helping streamline and optimize the culturing and biomass harvesting process, including optimization of the bioprocess to increase productivity or yields of specific metabolites with biotechnological interest originating from cyanobacteria/microalgae.
Mariane Bittencourt Fagundes is graduated in Food Technology by Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM-Brazil), also holds a master and doctorate in Food Science and technology from the same university (UFSM-Brazil). Her main skills are associated with microalgae process optimization, from analytical method development to different cultivation modes for primary and secondary metabolites production.
Marine is a French PhD student focusing on the discovery of new bioactive compounds from marine cyanobacteria in the Leão Lab of CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Portugal) and in the Gerwick Lab of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California San Diego, USA). She holds a BSc and a MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences (University of Poitiers, France) as well as a double MSc degree in Marine Biotechnology (University of La Rochelle, France). Before starting her PhD, she worked as a research assistant at CIIMAR and did internships at IFREMER (French National Institute for Ocean Science, France), and HEMARINA (marine biopharmaceutical company, France).
Paulo Oliveira has a degree in Biology from the U.Porto (Portugal), and a PhD in Biological Sciences from Uppsala University (Sweden), where he did also a post-doc. After returning to Portugal, he joined the Bioengineering and Synthetic Microbiology group at IBMC/i3S, U.Porto. Presently, P.Oliveira is junior researcher at the Cyanobacterial Natural Products group, under the BlueBio4Future project, and Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences, U.Porto. He has dedicated his scientific career to the study of cyanobacteria. Lately, he has focused on secretions mechanisms, particularly in the form of extracellular vesicles, and has participated in Synthetic biology initiatives.
Pedro Silva graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto (FEUP) in Bioengineering in 2022. Currently, he is in his first year of a master’s degree in Biological Engineering at the same faculty. At CNP, he is working on cyclic depsipeptides in cyanobacteria. The main objective of his work is to develop methodologies for isolating those compounds that have a significant pharmaceutical and biotechnology potential. He hails from the mid-Atlantic Ocean, specifically São Miguel in the Azores, and is an avid lover of the ocean.
Raquel Castelo Branco has completed her degree in Genetics and Biotechnology in 2009 and Msc degree in Biotechnology of Health Science in 2011 by University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro. She is a postgraduated researcher at Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology (BBE) group and her research interests include microbial biodiversity, microbial ecology and natural products mainly produced by cyanobacteria with biotechnological and pharmacological applications.
Sandra Figueiredo graduated from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, with a Master’s degree in Pharmacy and concluded her Ph.D. studies in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the specialty of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, in 2017, at the same university. In 2016 she was a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Spain. In brief, during her Ph.D. program, she conducted her research in the field of medicinal/pharmaceutical chemistry and biological sciences which has contributed to her significant expertise in drug discover and the biology of target diseases, mainly cancer. Since February 2018 she has been a postdoctoral researcher, hired under an ERC grant, at Cyanobacterial Natural Products (CNP) Team, CIIMAR, University of Porto, Portugal. Here, she has been working on the discovery of new chemistry and enzymology of cyanobacteria, combining cutting edge and traditional methodologies.
Sara Freitas holds a BsC in Biology (2010), a MsC in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (2013) and a PhD in Biology (2023), from the Faculty of Sciences in the University of Oporto. Sara is currently a technical assistant in the CNP laboratory in CIIMAR, on the research areas of microalgae cultivation, natural product discovery and structural characterization, having a vast experience on several chromatographic, spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques. Sara is also the lab manager of the CNP laboratory, responsible for drafting and maintaining standard operating procedures, maintaining lab equipment and supplies, enforcing safety and quality protocols and promote good laboratory practices.
I concluded my bachelor’s in Biochemistry by Univeristy of Porto, in 2015. My work in CIIMAR started in the first edition of BYT internships, and since then I have been a member of BBE group. In the moment, I am finishing my master thesis in Biochemistry, on the topic cyanobacterial natural products.
Eusébio, N., Castelo-Branco, R., Sousa, D., Preto, M., D’Agostino, P., Gulder, T.A.M., Leão, P.N.
2022ACS Synth Biol 11(10):3493-3503Martins, T.P., Glasserm, N.R., Kountz, D.J., Oliveira, P., Balskus, E.P., Leão, P.N.
2022ACS Chem Biol, 17(9):2528-2537Figueiredo, S.A.C., Preto, M., Moreira, G., Martins, T.P., Abt, K., Melo, A., Vasconcelos, V.M., Leão, P.N.
2021Angew Chem Int Ed 60(18):10064Reis J.P.A., Figueiredo S.A.C., Sousa M.L., Leão P.N.
2020Nat Commun 11:1458Castelo-Branco, R., Ouyang, X., Reis, J.P.A. et al.
2025Nat Commun 16, 10279Raquel Castelo-Branco, João P. Pereira, Sara Freitas, Marco Preto, Ana R. Vieira, João Morais, and Pedro N. Leão
2025Journal of Natural Products 88 (1), 86-93
