Sara Cunha, BSc in biochemistry and MSc in health biochemistry, is currently a biotechnology PhD student at ESB-UCP, developing her work at the Bioproducts and Bioactives group at CBQF. She has worked in research projects in different areas such as marine biology, microbiology, immunology and biotechnology. From 2018-2019 she was a Research Fellow under the project "ValorMar", working on the development of hydrolysates rich in bioactive peptides from marine sources, such as algae and mussels. Currently, in her PhD project, she is producing and studying marine hydrolysates regarding their potential to be used as functional ingredients for the development of food and cosmetic products. With the developed work, she has won two awards and was a finalist in several entrepreneurship programs, such as Born from Knowledge ideas 2021, EIT Food EWA - Empowering Women in Agrofood 2022 and Blue Bio Value Ideation 2022.

Publications

Cunha, S.A., Pintado, M. (2022) "Bioactive peptides derived from marine sources: Biological and functional properties." Trends in Food Science & Technology 119, 348–370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.08.017 [1]

Cunha, S.A., Coscueta, E.R., Nova, P., Silva, J.L., Pintado, M.M. (2022) “Bioactive Hydrolysates from Chlorella vulgaris: Optimal Process and Bioactive Properties”. Molecules, 27, 2505.
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27082505 [2]

Cunha, S.A., de Castro, R., Coscueta, E.R., Pintado, M. (2021) “Hydrolysate from Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Meat: Enzymatic Hydrolysis, Optimization and Bioactive Properties”. Molecules, 26, 5228. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175228 [3]

Reis, B., Ramos-Pinto, L., Cunha, S.A., Pintado, M., da Silva, J.L., Dias, J., Conceição, L., Matos, E., Costas, B. (2022) Chlorella vulgaris Extracts as Modulators of the Health Status and the Inflammatory Response of Gilthead Seabream Juveniles (Sparus aurata). Mar. Drugs, 20, 407. https://doi.org/10.3390/md20070407 [4]

Araújo-Rodrigues, H., Coscueta, E. R., Pereira, M. F., Cunha, S.A., Almeida, A., Rosa, A., Martins, R., Pereira, C.D., Pintado, M.E. (2022). Membrane fractionation of Cynara cardunculus swine blood hydrolysate: Ingredients of high nutritional and nutraceutical value. Food Research International, 158, 111549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111549 [5]