Last updated: 27 May 2025
Current Sector: Industry
Current Company: Molecular Devices
PhD Project Title: Organoid Expansion Bioreactor Development
Supervisor: Marianne Ellis (Chemical Engineering)
Supervisor: Paul De Bank (Life Sciences)
Supervisor(s): William Newell (Cellesce)
External Partner: Cellesce
MRes Project 1: Colorectal cancer organoid expansion for drug discovery
Supervisor(s): Marianne Ellis (Chemical Engineering)
Supervisor(s): Dr Paul De Bank
MRes Project 2: Microgel matrices for human cancer organoid production
Supervisor(s): Paul De Bank (Life Sciences)
Supervisor(s): Dr Marianne Ellis
Jessica was born in Rio de Janeiro and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She graduated from the Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar) in 2015 with a BEng in Chemical Engineering, which included a year-long work placement in the Innovation Area of BRASKEM SA, the largest petrochemical company in Latin America. In the two years spent working there, she prospected new renewable building blocks focussed on sustainable technologies. In 2013, during her BEng, she completed a year long full time course as a Visiting Student in Swansea University, where she attended some MEng modules and designed a desalination plant over the summer. After the exchange programme, she came back to Brazil and finished the remaining two years of her degree. During this period, she conducted research on a reactor with continuous production of biodiesel and she wrote her dissertation about the production of Bio-Polyamides, inspired by her placement in the industry. She joined the CSCT motivated by her interest in sustainability and the opportunity to work with an industrial partner for an interdisciplinary research. In her free time, Jessica likes dancing, listening to music and travelling to new places.
