Profile Details

Create Project

★★★★★

☆☆☆☆☆

USD 45 /hr

★★★★★

☆☆☆☆☆

Hire Dr. Luca L.

United Kingdom

USD 45 /hr

Microbiologist and Biochemist Scientist | Academic Writing Expert | Public Engagement Consultant

Profile Summary

Award-winning Industrial Biotechnologist PhD with 4+ years’ experience in Academic Research. Science is my day job, my side hustle, and my hobby. About me: PhD in Biochemistry; BSc and MSc in Industrial Biotechnology. International Research Background including Postdoctoral experiences in Italy, Belgium and the UK. 3+ years' experience in writing scientific papers published in high Impact-Factor Peer-Reviewed journals (4 papers; one with an IF above 5). 3+ years' experience in Public Engagement and dissemination, including Pint of Science speaker and event manager. Extensive knowledge of Academic Structure, Environment and Specifications. Lanza Foundation Prize on Ethics and Environmental Policies for the best PhD Dissertation on environmental development in terms of sustainability and management of the Earth resources (Lanza Foundation, 2016, Padua, Italy) Bernardo Nobile Award for the best MSc Dissertation that emphasizes the use of patents as a source of information (AREA Science Park, 2008, Trieste, Italy) Key Experience: Experience in Environmental Microbiology and Fermentation Processes Consolidated Background in Molecular and Synthetic Biology. Extensive Analytical Techniques (HPLC, GC and related software) Main services: Mentoring Students (for taught BSc and MSc programmes) Writing and Editing Articles or Scientific Report Reviews Preparing Conference Posters or Proceedings Scientific Consultations Background Literature Research Statistical Analysis and Content Editing Editing and Proofreading Curriculum Vitae and Resumes Advice with Academic Writing and Public Engagement

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Technical & Scientific Writing
• ★ Science Communication
• ☆ STEM
• ☆ Biomaterials
• ☆ Biology/Life Sciences
• ☆ Microbiology
• ☆ Biochemistry
• ☆ Biotechnology & Bioengineering
• ☆ Microbial Biotechnology
• ☆ Biomass & Bioenergy
• ☆ Biological Engineering
• ☆ Bioinformatics
• ☆ Industrial Biotechnology
• ☆ Bioenergy & Biofuels
• ☆ English Language
• ☆ Science Education
• ☆ Italian Studies
• ☆ Manuscript & Journal Article Writing

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Data & AI

Writing Technical Writing

Research Gray Literature Search, Systematic Literature Review

Data & AI Statistical Analysis

Work Experience

University of Bath

- Present

Post - Doc Researcher

Università degli Studi di Pavia Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie

July 2016 - October 2018

Visitor Fellow

Flemish Institute For Technological Research

August 2014 - February 2015

Education

Ph.D. in Biochemical and Biotechnological Sciences (Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering – DICAM)

DICAM - Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering

January 2013 - December 2015

Master Degree in Industrial Biotechnology (Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology)

Università degli Studi di Bologna

September 2009 - March 2012

Bachelor in Biotechnology (Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology)

Università degli Studi di Bologna

October 2005 - March 2006

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Scaled-Up Microwave-Assisted Pretreatment and Continuous Fermentation to Produce Yeast Lipids from Brewery Wastes @article{7381abd908d04729b3c19b2820238527, title = "Scaled-Up Microwave-Assisted Pretreatment and Continuous Fermentation to Produce Yeast Lipids from Brewery Wastes", abstract = "The cultivation of oleaginous yeast on second-generation feedstocks is an attractive alternative for edible lipid production. Despite many studies in this area addressing single aspects of this bioprocess, one of the major bottlenecks is the integration and optimization of the multiple unit operations while demonstrating this on a larger scale. In this investigation, a microwave-assisted hydrothermal process was developed to solubilize distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The optimal MW process was run semicontinuously and produced a fermentable oligosaccharide-rich stream with negligible furan-based content. An overliming step and reverse-osmosis stage were demonstrated, increasing the solubilized carbohydrate content to over 60 g/L, suitably concentrated for further bioprocessing. The oleaginous yeast, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, was used to ferment the material and was demonstrated to metabolize up to 75% of the oligosaccharide pool and produced 41% lipid content at a concentration of 14 g/L in a 27 day semicontinuous process. ", author = "Luca Longanesi and Bouxin, {Florent P.} and Jiajun Fan and Hadiza Auta and Richard Gammons and Felix Abeln and Budarin, {Vitaliy L.} and Clark, {James H.} and Chuck, {Christopher J.}", note = "Funding Information: This work is financially supported by the Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst (Innovate UK, BBSRC, EPSRC) to support the translation, development, and commercialization of innovative industrial biotechnology processes (EP/N013522/1). The authors thank Dr. Hannah Briers and Paul Elliott for expert technical assistance. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.", year = "2020", month = nov, day = "4", doi = "10.1021/acs.iecr.0c03463", language = "English", volume = "59", pages = "19803--19816", journal = "Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research", issn = "0888-5885", publisher = "American Chemical Society", number = "44", } . Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research.

Luca Longanesi and Florent P. Bouxin and Jiajun Fan and Hadiza Auta and Richard Gammons and Felix Abeln and Vitaliy L. Budarin and James H. Clark and Christopher J. Chuck(2020). Scaled-Up Microwave-Assisted Pretreatment and Continuous Fermentation to Produce Yeast Lipids from Brewery Wastes . Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. American Chemical Society ({ACS})

Semi‑continuous pilot‑scale microbial oil production with Metschnikowia pulcherrima on starch hydrolysate @article{35838972670047ff8ae8599b261f1264, title = "Semi‑continuous pilot‑scale microbial oil production with Metschnikowia pulcherrima on starch hydrolysate", abstract = "Background: Heterotrophic microbial oils are potentially a more sustainable alternative to vegetable or fossil oils for food and fuel applications. However, as almost all work in the area is conducted on the laboratory scale, such studies carry limited industrial relevance and do not give a clear indication of what is required to produce an actual industrial process. Metschnikowia pulcherrima is a non-pathogenic industrially promising oleaginous yeast which exhibits numerous advantages for cost-effective lipid production, including a wide substrate uptake, antimicrobial activity and fermentation inhibitor tolerance. In this study, M. pulcherrima was fermented in stirred tank reactors of up to 350 L with 250-L working volume in both batch and semi-continuous operation to highlight the potential industrial relevance. Due to being food-grade, suitable for handling at scale and to demonstrate the oligosaccharide uptake capacity of M. pulcherrima, enzyme-hydrolysed starch in the form of glucose syrup was selected as fermentation feedstock.Results: In batch fermentations on the 2-L scale, a lipid concentration of 14.6 g L−1 and productivity of 0.11 g L−1 h−1 were achieved, which was confirmed at 50 L (15.8 g L−1; 0.10 g L−1 h−1). The maximum lipid production rate was 0.33 g L−1 h−1 (daily average), but the substrate uptake rate decreased with oligosaccharide chain length. To produce 1 kg of dry yeast biomass containing up to 43% (w/w) lipids, 5.2 kg of the glucose syrup was required, with a lipidyield of up to 0.21 g g−1 consumed saccharides. In semi-continuous operation, for the first time, an oleaginous yeast was cultured for over 2 months with a relatively stable lipid production rate (around 0.08 g L−1 h−1) and fatty acid profile (degree of fatty acid saturation around 27.6% w/w), and without contamination. On the 250-L scale, comparable results were observed, culminating in the generation of nearly 10 kg lipids with a lipid productivity of 0.10 g L−1 h−1.Conclusions: The results establish the importance of M. pulcherrima for industrial biotechnology and its suitability to commercially produce a food-grade oil. Further improvements in the productivity are required to make M. pulcherrima lipid production industrial reality, particularly when longer-chain saccharides are involved.This project has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie grant agreement No 665992 ", author = "Felix Abeln and Hicks, {Robert H.} and Hadiza Auta and Mauro Moreno-Beltr{\'a}n and Luca Longanesi and Henk, {Daniel H.} and Chuck, {Christopher J.}", note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2020.", year = "2020", month = jul, day = "16", doi = "10.1186/s13068-020-01756-2", language = "English", volume = "13", journal = "Biotechnology for Biofuels", issn = "1754-6834", publisher = "BioMed Central", } . Biotechnology for Biofuels.

Valorisation of sawdust through the combined microwave-assisted hydrothermal pre-treatment and fermentation using an oleaginous yeast @article{13107490a09d409e8a72d663c8b76d75, title = "Valorisation of sawdust through the combined microwave-assisted hydrothermal pre-treatment and fermentation using an oleaginous yeast", abstract = "Oleaginous yeast, cultured on second-generation lignocellulosic resources, has the potential to be a key part of the future energy sector. However, the multiple unit operations necessary to produce concentrated hydrolysates, with a minimum of fermentation inhibitors, limit the applicability to date. In this study, a simple microwave-assisted hydrothermal pre-treatment step of oak or beech sawdust was deployed to produce an oligosaccharide-rich hydrolysate. This was then catabolised by the oleaginous yeast, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, avoiding the need for costly enzymatic or further chemical steps in the processing. Up to 85% of the sawdust{\textquoteright}s hemicelluloses could be solubilised under these conditions, and 8 g/L DCW yeast with a 42% lipid content produced. While a number of studies have demonstrated that oleaginous yeasts possess high inhibitor tolerance, using this real lignocellulosic hydrolysate, we demonstrate that lipid production is actually very sensitive to inhibitor and carbon availability, and the optimal system is not the one that gives the highest hydrolysate or cell biomass. Indeed, the yeast was shown to detoxify the inhibitors in the process, but at high inhibitor loading, this leads to very poor lipid production, especially at high furfural levels. These findings clearly highlight the importance of considering multiple variables when real, complex lignocellulosic media are involved, tuning process conditions based on the desired fermentation outcomes.", keywords = "Fermentation, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Microbial lipids, Microwave-assisted pretreatment, Sawdust", author = "Luca Longanesi and Bouxin, {Florent P.} and Jiajun Fan and Hadiza Auta and Richard Gammons and Budarin, {Vitaily L.} and Aikaterini Vriza and Clark, {James H.} and Chuck, {Christopher J.}", year = "2020", month = may, day = "18", doi = "10.1007/s13399-020-00757-3", language = "English", journal = "Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery", issn = "2190-6815", publisher = "Springer Verlag", } . Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery.

(2020). Valorisation of sawdust through the combined microwave-assisted hydrothermal pre-treatment and fermentation using an oleaginous yeast . Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery.

Longanesi, L., Frascari, D., Spagni, C., DeWever, H., Pinelli, D.(2018). Succinic acid production from cheese whey by biofilms of Actinobacillus succinogenes: packed bed bioreactor tests . Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. 93. (1). p. 246-256.

(2014). On-Column refolding of diphtheria toxin variant CRM197 by different metal chelating affinity chromatography matrices . J. Chem. Chem. Eng.

Frascari, D., Cappelletti, M., Mendes, J.D.S., Alberini, A., Scimonelli, F., Manfreda, C., Longanesi, L., Zannoni, D., Pinelli, D., Fedi, S.(2013). A kinetic study of biohydrogen production from glucose, molasses and cheese whey by suspended and attached cells of Thermotoga neapolitana . Bioresource Technology. 147. p. 553-561.