Luísa Seuanes Serafim is Assistant Professor of Chemistry Department of University of Aveiro and Researcher of CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, the largest Materials Science Institute in Portugal. She is also director of the BSc in Chemical Engineering and vice-director of the BSc and MSc in Biotechnology and Mobility coordinator of Biotechnology area at UA. Luísa got her Ph.D. in 2004 from the Department of Chemistry, Science and Technology of New University of Lisbon, working on the production of biopolymers using mixed microbial cultures. This was followed by four years of post-doc (Optimization of biopolymers production) in the institution. She has been in the Chemistry Department, Aveiro University, since October 2008 and since then teaches subjects related to Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology fields. Luísa has published 53 SCI papers and 10 book chapters, with 3174 citations (h-index 27), and and gave more than 80 talks at conferences (mostly international). She has supervised 6 PhD students and 53 MSc. students. She has published one national patent. Luisa is member of the editorial board of Fermentation and Energies and has been a regular referee for the leading journals in Microbiology, Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering fields. She worked as evaluator of proposals submitted to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of European Union, Theme 2 "Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology" of the Specific Programme "Cooperation", area 2.3.2. Bioprocesses. She also worked as evaluator for the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland, Austrian Science Fund, Czech Science Fund, and French Scientific Research Agency. The domain of specialization is the biological valorization of wastes, which includes polyhydroxyalkanoates production by pure and mixed microbial cultures using different carbon sources (simple and real complex wastes) and different process conditions. Mixed microbial cultures are also subject of study in acidification processes to produce organic acids. The study of mixed microbial cultures includes molecular biology techniques to characterize and understand the evolution of the microbial communities, namely, fluorescence in situ hybridization. In addition, the use of wastes for the production of bacterial cellulose and biosurfactants are comprised in the research area, as well the use of yeasts for the production of second-generation bioethanol. Scientific interests include: microbial biopolymers production (polyhydroxyalkanoates and bacterial cellulose); characterization of microbial biopolymers; treatment and valorization of urban and agro-industrial residues and wastewaters within the concept of biorefineries; bioethanol, organic acids and biosurfactants production from wastes; screening and modification of biopolymers-producing microbial strains; microbial ecology of mixed cultures consortia.