Iana Lychko (991D-2C4D-AD28)

Curriculum Vitae

Iana Lychko

Iana Lychko is a Postdoctoral Researcher at NOVA University Lisbon, specializing in molecular biology, protein biophysics, and bio-based materials. With over seven years of R&D experience, she has expertise in recombinant protein production, purification, and characterization, as well as biophysical and material characterization techniques. Dr. Lychko is currently working on PROTEIOS – Protein Tunable Materials for Non-Invasive Sensing (FCT Grant PTDC/CTM-CTM/3389/2021), developing smart sensors for wound monitoring to detect infections before they become severe. She holds a Master’s (2018) and Ph.D. in Biotechnology from FCT-NOVA, with her Ph.D. (defended on October 7th, 2024). She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles (Materials Advances, Frontiers in Chemistry), with an h-index of 4 and a total of 240 citations. She is also the first author of three published articles, including one for which she created a scientific illustration that was accepted as the cover for a journal issue of Materials Advances. During her studies, in 2017 she completed internships at the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires de Marseille (CNRS, France) under the supervision of Prof. Olga Iranzo, learning peptide synthesis. Moreover in 2022 she did an internship at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden) under the supervision Prof. Sophia Hober, where she gained expertise in protein technology and affinity ligand studies. Dr. Lychko has supervised three Master students, helped with research projects management, and contributed to patent preparation. She has an interest in data processing and analysis, with experience in Python programming that she applies to analyze complex data and material performance metrics. She has also been actively involved in organizing international scientific meetings. Beyond academia, Dr. Lychko is enrolled in entrepreneurship and innovation programs, such as HiSeedTech, focusing on technology commercialization and business strategy.

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Identification

Personal identification

Full name: Iana Lychko

Citation names

Lychko, Iana

Author identifiers

Ciência ID: 991D-2C4D-AD28
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3799-0557

Email addresses

i.lychko@campus.fct.unl.pt (Professional)

Websites

https://www.linkedin.com/in/iana-lychko/ (Social media)
https://sites.fct.unl.pt/biomolecular_eng/home (Professional)

Knowledge fields

Natural sciences - Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
Exact Sciences - Chemical Sciences
Natural sciences - Biological Sciences
Medical and Health Sciences - Medical Biotechnology - Biomaterials
Engineering and Technology - Industrial Biotechnology
Engineering and Technology - Industrial Biotechnology - Bio-derived Novel Materials
Engineering and Technology - Industrial Biotechnology - Bio-derived Novel Materials
Engineering and Technology - Industrial Biotechnology - Bioproducts Biomaterials

Languages

Language	Speaking	Reading	Writing	Listening	Peer-review
Ukrainian (Mother tongue)
Portuguese	Proficiency (C2)	Proficiency (C2)	Advanced (C1)	Proficiency (C2)	Advanced (C1)
English	Upper intermediate (B2)	Advanced (C1)	Upper intermediate (B2)	Upper intermediate (B2)	Upper intermediate (B2)
Russian	Advanced (C1)	Proficiency (C2)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)	Advanced (C1)

Education

	Degree	Classification
2019/11/01 - 2024/10/07 Concluded	Biotecnologia (Doutoramento) Universidade Nova de Lisboa Departamento de Química, Portugal "Protein materials for gas sensing" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
2016/09/05 - 2018/10/30 Concluded	Biotecnologia (Mestrado) Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal "Design and production of peptide-based scaffolds for bioengineering applications" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	18 / 20
2013/09 - 2016/07 Concluded	Bioquímica (Licenciatura) Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal "Exploring the synergistic effects between protein-based carriers and active principles" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)	16 / 20

Affiliation

Science

	Category Host institution	Employer
2024/12/13 - Current	Postdoc (Research)	Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal

2024/01/01 - 2024/12/12	Research Assistant (Research)	Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal

2019/02/01 - 2019/10/31	Auxiliary Researcher (Research)	REQUIMTE Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal
	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2017/10/01 - 2017/11/30	Research Trainee (Research)	Institut des Sciences Moléculaires de Marseille, France
	Institut des Sciences Moléculaires de Marseille, France
2016/07 - 2016/08	Research Trainee (Research)	REQUIMTE Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal
	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2016/01 - 2016/04	Research Trainee (Research)	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Portugal
	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Portugal

Others

	Category Host institution	Employer
2019/11/01 - 2024/10/07	PhD fellowship granted by FCT in the 2019 call	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2022/10 - 2022/12	Visiting Research Scientist	Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan Avdelningen för Proteinteknologi, Sweden

Projects

Grant

	Designation	Funders
2019/11/01 - 2023/11/01	Protein materials for gas sensing SFRH/BD/147388/2019 PhD Student Fellow Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
2019/02/01 - 2019/10/31	Sea2See: Bio-inspired materials for fish spoilage control LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-028878 PTDC/BII-BIO/28878/2017 Research Fellow Universidade Nova de Lisboa Departamento de Química, Portugal REQUIMTE Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing
2018/10/01 - 2018/11/30	Design and synthesis of small protein-based scaffolds for Bioengineering applications PICS-147340 Research Fellow REQUIMTE Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal	Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2018/10 - 2018/11	Design and synthesis of small protein-based scaffolds for Bioengineering applications PICS-147340	Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Contract

	Designation	Funders
2021/01/01 - 2025/12/31	Institute for Health and Bioeconomy LA/P/0140/2020 10.54499/LA/P/0140/2020 PhD Student Fellow Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento, Portugal Universidade de Lisboa Instituto de Bioengenharia e Biociências, Portugal Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias, Portugal Rede de Química e Tecnologia Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde, Portugal Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing
2020/01/01 - 2023/12/31	Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit UIDB/04378/2020 10.54499/UIDB/04378/2020 PhD Student Fellow Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal Rede de Química e Tecnologia Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde, Portugal Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Tecnologias e Agroambiente, Portugal Universidade do Porto, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded
2020/01/01 - 2023/12/31	Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit UIDB/04378/2020 10.54499/UIDB/04378/2020 PhD Student Fellow Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal Rede de Química e Tecnologia Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde, Portugal Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal Universidade do Porto Instituto de Ciências Tecnologias e Agroambiente, Portugal Universidade do Porto, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Concluded

Other

	Designation	Funders
2022/01/17 - 2025/01/16	PROTEIOS - Protein Tunable Materials for Non-Invasive Sensing PTDC/CTM-CTM/3389/2021 10.54499/PTDC/CTM-CTM/3389/2021 Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal Universidade Nova de Lisboa Laboratório de Instrumentação Engenharia Biomédica e Física da Radiação, Portugal Instituto de Etnomusicologia Centro de Estudos em Música e Dança, Portugal Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Dom Luiz, Portugal Universidade Nova de Lisboa Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, Portugal	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ongoing

Outputs

Publications

Conference poster	Afonso Eva; Lychko, Iana; Catia Soares; Ana MGC Dias; Ana Cecília A. Roque. "From Nature to Innovation: Biotechnological Production, Purification, and Processing of cephalopod-specific proteins (Flash Presentation)". Paper presented in PepperSchool2024 - Peptide and protein engineering from concepts to biotechnological applications, 2024. Catia Soares; Lychko, Iana; Tomás R. Calmeiro; Martins, Rodrigo; Moura Barbosa, Arménio J.; Ana MGC Dias; Ana Cecília A. Roque. "Characterization of dynamic self-assembly of reflectins (Flash Presentation)". Paper presented in PepperSchool2024 - Peptide and protein engineering from concepts to biotechnological applications, 2024. Lychko, Iana; Soares, CL; Barbosa, AJM; Calmeiro, Tomás; Martins, Rodrigo; Ana Margarida Dias; Roque, ACA. "Exploring the Reversible Behavior of Cephalopod-inspired Nanostructures". Paper presented in Gordon's Bio-inspired Materials, 2024. Lychko, Iana; Soares, CL; Barbosa, AJM; Martins, Rodrigo; Ana Margarida Dias; Roque, ACA. "Insights into the dynamic self-assembly of cephalopod specific proteins". Paper presented in Biophysics festival, Covilhã, Portugal, 2024. Lychko, Iana; Soares, CL; Barbosa, AJM; Calmeiro, Tomás; Martins, Rodrigo; Ana Margarida Dias; Roque, ACA. "Characterization of Reflectins Dynamic Self-Assembly". Paper presented in ”. SupraLife Second School - “Bioinspired Supramolecular Self-Assemblies, 2024. Barbosa, A.J.M.; Arianna Nurrito; Ana Margarida Dias; Soares, Cátia; Lychko, Iana; Roque, ACA. "Modeling studies of reflectin de novo peptide assembly". Paper presented in 15th National Physical Chemistry Meeting (15ENQF) and 4th Computational Chemistry Symposium, 2024. Arménio Jorge Moura Barbosa; Soares, Cátia Lopes; Esteves, Carina; A. Nurrito; Lychko, Iana; Ana Margarida Gonçalves Carvalho Dias; Ana Pina; Ana Cecília A. Roque. Corresponding author: Arménio Jorge Moura Barbosa. "From code to structure: molecular modeling in biomaterials assembly". Paper presented in SupraLife Second School - “Bioinspired Supramolecular Self-Assemblies", 2024. Lychko, Iana; Soares, Cátia Lopes; Ana Margarida Dias; Ana Cecília A. Roque. Corresponding author: Lychko, Iana. "From Nature to Innovation: Biotechnological Production of cephalopod-specific proteins". Paper presented in SupraLife Second School - “Bioinspired Supramolecular Self-Assemblies", 2024. Soares, Cátia Lopes; Lychko, Iana; Calmeiro TR; Martins R.; Moura Barbosa, Arménio J.; Ana Margarida Dias; Roque, ACA. Corresponding author: Soares, Cátia Lopes. "Characterization of dynamic self-assembly of reflectins". Paper presented in PepperSchool 2nd Edition, Caparica, Lisbon, 2024. Afonso Eva; Lychko, Iana; Soares, Cátia Lopes; Ana Margarida Dias; Roque, ACA. Corresponding author: Afonso Eva. "From Nature to Innovation: Biotechnological Production, Purification, and Processing of cephalopod-specific proteins". Paper presented in PepperSchool 2nd Edition, Caparica, Lisbon, 2024. Lychko, Iana; Lopes Soares, Cátia; Inês Padrão; Calmeiro, Tomás; Moura Barbosa, Arménio J.; Pedro Costa; Ana MGC Dias; et al. "Optimized production of reflectins and characterization of their reversible self-assembly. Microbiotec 2023, 7th-9th December 2023, Covilhã, Portugal". Paper presented in Microbiotec 2023, 2023. Lychko, Iana; Soares, Cátia; Barbosa, AJM; Calmeiro, Tomás; Ana Margarida Dias; Roque, ACA. "Dynamic Self- Assembly Characterization of Reflectins". Paper presented in Affinity 2023, 2023. Lychko, Iana; Soares, Cátia Lopes; Inês Padrão; Calmeiro, Tomás; Moura Barbosa, Arménio J.; Pedro Costa; Ana MGC Dias; Roque, ACA. "Optimized production of reflectins and characterization of their reversible self-assembly". Paper presented in Microbiotec 2023, 2023. Barbosa, AJM; Arianna Nurrit; Soares, Cátia; Lychko, Iana; Ana Margarida Dias; Ana Cecília Afonso Roque. "Molecular dynamics studies on the assembly of reflectin-based peptides". Paper presented in CCG UGM & Conference 2022 Europe, 2022. Barbosa, A.J.M.; Arianna Nurrito; Soares, Cátia; Lychko, Iana; Ana Margarida Dias; Ana Cecília Afonso Roque. "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Reflectin-based peptides". Paper presented in Biophysics Festival 2022, 2022. Lychko, Iana; Cátia Lopes Soares; Tómas Calmeiro; Ana Margarida Dias; Roque, ACA. "Studying the reversibility and self-assembly of cephalopod-specific proteins". Paper presented in Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC), 2022. Dias, AMGC; Moreira, I; Lychko, I; Nurrito, A; Barbosa, AJM; Bueno-Lutz, V; Mezzenga, R; et al. "Reflectin derived peptide – highlights on its self-assembly into soft materials". Paper presented in Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC), 2022. Lychko, Iana; Soares, Cátia; Dias, Ana; Pina, Ana Sofia; Roque, Ana. "Optimized production and characterization of stimuli-responsive marine proteins". Paper presented in Designer Biology, 2021. Ana Margarida Gonçalves Carvalho Dias; Inês Moreira; Lychko, Iana; Adriana Nurrito; Barbosa, AJM; Roque, ACA. "Reflectin derived peptide – highlights on its self-assembly into soft materials"". Paper presented in Beyond Biology 2021 - EMBO international virtual workshop, 2021, 2021. Teixeira GDG; Lychko, I; Barbosa AJM; Ana C. A. Roque. "A database of the molecular recognition from odorant-binding proteins.". Paper presented in Affintiy Conference, 2019. Arménio J Moura Barbosa; Joana Saraiva; Iana Lychko; Ana C. A. Roque. "Unraveling selectivity of odorant-binding proteins towards distinct families of odors". Paper presented in ESBES 2018, 2018. Raquel dos Santos ; Lychko, Iana; Maria João Romão; Ana C. A. Roque; Ana Luisa Carvalho. "Magnetic crystallization proof-of-concept: Lysozyme and trypsin case study". Paper presented in 31st European Crystallographic Meeting, 2018.
Journal article	Iana Lychko; Inês Padrão; Afonso Eva; Catarina Domingos; Henrique Miguel Aljustrel da Costa; Ana Margarida Gonçalves Carvalho Dias; Ana Cecília Afonso Roque. "Cephalopod proteins for bioinspired and sustainable biomaterials design". Materials Today Bio (2025): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.101644. 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.101644 Iana Lychko; Cátia Lopes Soares; Arménio Jorge Moura Barbosa; Tomás Rosa Calmeiro; Rodrigo Ferrão de Paiva Martins; Ana Margarida Gonçalves Carvalho Dias; Ana Cecília Afonso Roque. "Kinetics of charge-dependent reversible condensation of reflectin nanostructures". Materials Advances (2025): https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MA00788C. 10.1039/D4MA00788C Dias, Ana Margarida Gonçalves Carvalho; Moreira, Inês Pimentel; Lychko, Iana; Lopes Soares, Cátia; Nurrito, Arianna; Moura Barbosa, Arménio Jorge; Lutz-Bueno, Viviane; et al. "Hierarchical self-assembly of a reflectin-derived peptide". Frontiers in Chemistry 11 (2023): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2023.1267563. 10.3389/fchem.2023.1267563 Iana Lychko; Cátia Lopes Soares; Ana Margarida Gonçalves Carvalho Dias; Ana Cecília Afonso Roque. "A scalable method to purify reflectins from inclusion bodies". Separation and Purification Technology 315 (2023): 123736-123736. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2023.123736. 10.1016/j.seppur.2023.123736 Iris Batalha; Lychko, Iana; Ricardo Branco; Olga Iranzo Casanova; Ana C A Roque. "ß-hairpins as peptidomimetics of human phosphoprotein-binding domains". Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 17 16 (2019): 3996-4004. DOI: 10.1039/c9ob00564a. Published I. L. Batalha; I. Lychko; R. J. F. Branco; O. Iranzo; A. C. A. Roque. "ß-Hairpins as peptidomimetics of human phosphoprotein-binding domains". Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (2019): https://doi.org/10.1039/C9OB00564A. 10.1039/C9OB00564A Maugeri, Gaetano; Lychko, Iana; Sobral, Rita; Roque, Ana C. A.. "Identification and Antibiotic-Susceptibility Profiling of Infectious Bacterial Agents: A Review of Current and Future Trends". Biotechnology Journal 14 1 (2018): 1700750. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201700750. Published • 10.1002/biot.201700750 Saldanha do Carmo, C.; Maia, C.; Poejo, Joana; Lychko, I.; Gamito, P.; Nogueira, I.; Bronze, M. R.; Serra, Ana Teresa; Duarte, Catarina M. M.. "Microencapsulation of a-tocopherol with zein and ß-cyclodextrin using spray drying for colour stability and shelf-life improvement of fruit beverages". RSC Advances 7 51 (2017): 32065-32075. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c6ra25946d. Published • 10.1039/c6ra25946d
Preprint	Dias, Ana; Moreira, Inês Pimentel; Lychko, Iana; Nurrito, Arianna; Barbosa, A.J.M.; Lutz-Bueno, Viviane; Mezzenga, Raffaele; et al. Corresponding author: Roque, Ana Cecília Afonso. "Hierarchical Self-Assembly of the Reflectin-Derived Protopeptide". 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4406145. 10.2139/ssrn.4406145
Thesis / Dissertation	Lychko, Iana. "Design and production of peptide-based scaffolds for bioengineering applications". Master, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/52369.

Activities

Oral presentation

	Presentation title	Event name Host (Event location)
2023	A scalable method to purify reflectins from inclusion bodies	ISPPP 2023 (Viena, Austria)
2022	Self-assembly analysis of cephalopod-specific intrinsically disordered structural proteins.	8th International Iberian Biophysics Congress (IIBC2022) (Bilbao, Spain)
2022	Strategies for the purification of cephalopod-specific structural proteins with biotechnological potential.	BPP 2022 - Biopartitioning & Purification Conference (Aveiro, Portugal)
2022	Cell-based vs Cell-free production and purification of marine-based structural proteins.	6th Applied Synthetic Biology in Europe (Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
2021	Protopeptide the basic unit of Reflectins: hierarchical self-assembly study in different solvents and materials properties	Designer Biology 2021 European Federation of Biotechnology (virtual edition)
2018/09/10	Affinity magnetic precipitation for monoclonal antibodies purification	ESBES European Society of Biochemical Engineering Sciences (Lisboa, Portugal)
2018/02/02	Design and Synthesis of Small Protein-Based Scaffolds for Bioengineering Applications	Intermediate Conference of the Annual Dissertations of the DQ and DCV Masters Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Departamento de Química (Almada, Portugal)

Event organisation

	Event name Type of event (Role)	Institution / Organization
2023/06/05 - 2023/06/07	Affinity 2023 25th ISMR meeting. Responsible for Design and communication - Affinity2021.org (2023/06/05 - 2023/06/07) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)
2020/08/01 - 2021/06/25	Affinity 2021 (Virtual Event) 24th ISMR meeting. Responsible for Design and communication - Affinity2021.org (2021/06/22 - 2021/06/24) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	REQUIMTE Unidade de Ciências Biomoleculares Aplicadas, Portugal Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2015/12 - 2016/02/04	Member of the organizing committee of the chemistry and biochemistry technological conference: JORTEC Chemistry in Portuguese (2016/02/02 - 2016/02/03) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2014/12 - 2015/02/14	Member of the organizing committee of the biochemistry technological conference: JORTEC A world of opportunities: discovering the future (2015/02/12 - 2015/02/13) Conference (Member of the Organising Committee)	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal

Event participation

	Activity description Type of event	Event name Institution / Organization
2021/03/15 - 2021/03/19	Participation in the second edition of PEPPERSchool, an international thematic school. Workshop	PEPPERSchool Aix-Marseille Université, France Universidade Nova de Lisboa Departamento de Química, Portugal
2020/11/23 - 2020/11/27	Modern Methods of Structure Elucidation (MMSE) -2020 Workshop	Modern Methods of Structure Elucidation (MMSE) -2020 Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2018/04/11 - 2018/04/11	Scientific exposition at Expo-FCT through Biomolecular Engineering LAB, FCT-NOVA Exhibition	EXPO FCT 2018 Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal Universidade Nova de Lisboa Departamento de Química, Portugal
2018/04/04 - 2018/04/04	Science outreach activity at Colégio Verde Água – Ensino Básico e Academia through Biomolecular Engineering Lab (FCT-NOVA) Other
2015 - 2017	Presence in sales stalls for charity foundation FACIT	Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
2016/12/01 - 2016/12/03	Food collections for the charity foundation Other	Banco Alimentar , Portugal

Association member

	Society Organization name	Role
2021/05 - Current	Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
2021 - Current	The International Society for Molecular Recognition (ISMR)
2019/02 - Current	European Federation of Biotechnology

Distinctions

Award

2023	Best Poster Award in Bioprocess Engineering

Title

2017	Semi-finalist of the Angelini University Award 16/17 Morada Angelini Farmacêutica Lda, Portugal

Other distinction

2021	PEPPERSchool: PhD student Grant for attendance
2018	Young Scientist Award, ECM31 in Oviedo, Spain (attributed to Raquel dos Santos poster presentation)