Vanessa Pereira

Senior Scientist and Lab Coordinator, Membrane Processes Lab

vanessap@ibet.pt

Biography

I am Senior Scientist and Lab Coordinator in the Laboratory of Membrane Processes at iBET. In this role, I have gained experience in supervising students as well as writing and managing national and international projects in close collaboration with research and industry partners.

I hold an undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering from Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa in Portugal, as well as an MSc and PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.

While working on my Master’s and PhD degrees, I gained hands-on experience with analytical methods for detecting chemical compounds such as disinfection by-products and pharmaceutical compounds in water, as well as with water treatment processes, with a special focus on UV photolysis and advanced oxidation processes.

I joined iBET in 2005, initially as a postdoc in the Food Safety & Microbiology Laboratory and the Laboratory of Membrane Processes, where I gained experience in microbiology and membrane treatment processes.

My current areas of interest include:
(i) Water quality, treatment, and reuse;
(ii) The development of effective water treatment systems combining membrane filtration and UV photolysis;
(iii) Disinfection of water, food, and surfaces;
(iv) Exploring the use of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes that emit light at different wavelengths in terms of effectiveness and mechanisms of inactivation.

Complete CV