GICOM team

Jonathan Michel Barba Godínez is originally from Mexico. He studied a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Chemist Biologist at the University of Guadalajara, specialising in controlled and intelligent release of bioactive compounds and probiotic bacteria. He then completed a Master’s degree in Forest Products with a focus on sustainable biomaterials at the University of Guadalajara, in collaboration with the Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco (CIATEJ A.C), a CONAHCYT centre. For his Master’s studies he received a scholarship from the National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology (CONAHCYT), and his thesis topic was the development of scaffolds based on bacterial cellulose for use in bone tissue regeneration. During his postgraduate studies he carried out a research stay at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Canada, and another research stay at Auburn University in Alabama, USA.

He has now joined the GICOM group as a PhD student in the Environmental Science and Technology programme at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. His research focuses on end-of-life analysis and degradation of degradable electrochemical batteries. He is supervised by Dr Raquel Barrena and Dr Teresa Gea.

Jana Font i Pomarol, after obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Barcelona, completed a Master’s degree in Energy Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, specialising in renewable energies. She subsequently carried out her Master’s thesis in Colombia, at the Industrial University of Santander, where she focused on vermifiltration as a post-treatment of digestate from low-cost biodigesters implemented in rural areas of the country.

She has now joined GICOM as a PhD student in the Environmental Science and Technology programme at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Her research focuses on the production of biopesticides and biostimulants through solid-state fermentation of digested sludge.

Her supervisors are Dr Antoni Sánchez, Dr Adriana Artola and Dr Esther Molina.

Marta García Prats studied the Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology at the University of Barcelona, completing the Agro-food track. She carried out a stay at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), where she did her Bachelor’s thesis on the cultivation of Cupriavidus necator for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and their biodegradation in different types of soil. After that, she studied the Master’s degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. During the Master’s, she joined the Composting Research Group (GICOM) as an intern, where she took part in a community composting project (CARE) and completed her Master’s thesis.

She is currently part of the GICOM group as a PhD student in the Environmental Science and Technology programme at the UAB. Her research focuses on the use of biochar as an additive to improve the anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). Her supervisors are Dr Antoni Sánchez and Dr Daniel González.

Clara Gómez González is an Industrial Chemical Engineer (Universidade de Vigo). During her degree, she had the opportunity to be part of the BIOSUV group (Bioengineering and Sustainable Processes Group) at CINTECX, where she received solid training in different laboratory areas (including chromatography, spectrophotometry and Metal–Organic Framework synthesis, among others). She specialised in environmental sustainability (Master’s degree, Autonomous University of Barcelona), specifically in industrial ecology, focusing on life cycle assessment (LCA). During the Master’s, she carried out an internship at the company CETAQUA (Barcelona) as a support technician, where, in addition to LCAs, she worked on Carbon Footprint, Water Footprint and gaseous emission control. After completing her Master’s degree, she worked for one year in the automotive industry, assessing the sustainability of its manufacturing processes and the possibilities of introducing green materials into the production line.

In 2025, she joined the GICOM research group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where she is currently carrying out her doctoral thesis with an FPI fellowship awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Her PhD research is framed within the SOLSTICE project, focusing on solid-state fermentation of biosurfactants. Her supervisors are Dr Teresa Gea and Dr Antoni Sánchez.

Roser Iborra Talens holds a degree in Biotechnology from the University of Girona, where she also completed a Master’s degree in Food Biotechnology. Both her bachelor’s and master’s theses, carried out at LIPPSO, focused on the synthesis, isolation, and characterization of peptides as agents for controlling plant pathogens, with particular emphasis on the study of Xylella fastidiosa.

After completing her studies, she worked as a specifications technician in a major meat company in Catalonia. This experience allowed her to acquire knowledge in product development, export regulations, labeling, and traceability.

She later joined a research center, where she focused her work on the sampling and mitigation of greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, generated during the management of livestock manure at various stages, including composting.

She is currently a member of the GICOM group as a PhD candidate in the Environmental Science and Technology program at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Her research focuses on the measurement and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in controlled landfills in Catalonia. She is supervised by Dr. Daniel González and Dr. Esther Molina.

Jimei Liu, originally from China, obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering at the Nanchang Institute of Technology. She later completed a Master’s degree in Biology and Medicine at Inner Mongolia University, where her research focused on the molecular mechanisms by which DNA methylation regulates gene expression, using Arabidopsis as a model organism.

Subsequently, she received a CSC scholarship to pursue doctoral studies and is currently undertaking her PhD at the School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering of the UAB. Her doctoral research, carried out within the GICOM research group, focuses on solid-state fermentation (SSF) under the supervision of Professors Antoni Sánchez Ferrer, Oscar Mauricio Martínez Ávila and Esther Molina Peñate.

David Moyano Domínguez is a Chemical Engineer who graduated from the UAB in 2021. During his degree, he completed curricular internships at AERIS Tecnologias Ambientales S.L. and extracurricular internships at GICOM, carrying out experiments related to wastewater treatment and anaerobic digestion.

He completed the Master’s degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering at the UAB in 2023. During this period, he undertook external internships and his Master’s thesis at LEITAT, where he conducted wastewater treatment experiments mainly using physical and bioelectrochemical systems aimed at the clean production of fertilisers or at improving methane production in anaerobic digestion.

He is currently a PhD student in the GICOM group and is enrolled in the Environmental Science and Technology programme at the UAB. His research aims to improve biogas production through the use of nanoparticles and to address the scale-up of this technology for its implementation in real cases. He is supervised by Dr Xavier Font Segura and Dr Raquel Barrena Gómez.

Elena Olivera Begué obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the UAB in 2021. During her studies, she received an Erasmus+ scholarship to study at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). She then carried out an extracurricular internship at GICOM during her fourth year. Elena was awarded a scholarship from the Europe-Colorado Mobility programme to study at the University of Colorado Boulder, which allowed her to complete her Bachelor’s thesis on Copper Adsorption with BOF Slag using Synthetic and Industrial Solutions. During her degree, she took part in entrepreneurship programmes for sustainable businesses such as The Journey (a summer school of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology) and the Ideas Generation Programme (a four-month challenge run by the UAB Research Park).

Elena completed her Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences with a specialisation in Environmental Technology at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Her Master’s thesis was entitled Biological Reduction of Elemental Sulfur to H₂S for Heavy Metal Recovery. During her time at WUR, she also worked as a researcher and teaching assistant. She returned to GICOM for her Master’s internship on the Impact of Biochar on Gas Emissions during Composting of Digestate from Organic Waste. She will continue this line of research in her PhD programme. Her supervisors are Dr Antoni Sánchez and Dr Daniel González.

Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, at Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Science at Assiut University. I obtained my Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry in 2021, also from the Faculty of Science at Assiut University. My Master’s thesis focused on the synthesis and characterization of heterocyclic organic compounds and their potential applications as antimicrobial agents and for the removal of contaminants from aqueous solutions.

I have now joined the GICOM group as a PhD student in the Environmental Science and Technology Programme in the Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. My PhD supervisors are Dr Adriana Artola and Dr Antonio Javier Moral.

Paula Siñeriz Casado is a biotechnologist (Bachelor’s degree, University of Oviedo) specialised in environmental microbiology (Master’s degree, Autonomous University of Madrid) from Asturias.

After completing her Master’s degree, she joined the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the University of Oviedo (UCC+I, 2021–2022) as manager of the European Researchers’ Night and other science outreach activities. At the end of 2022, she became part of the “Biodiversity and Functions of Aquatic Systems” research line at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA-CERCA), as a research support technician associated with the RIVSTRESS project (PID2020-115708RB-C22). During her time at ICRA (2022–2024), her work focused on studying the impact that various stressors (e.g. presence of pesticides, excess or deficit of nutrients, temperature, water volume, etc.) can have on the structure and functions of algal and bacterial communities forming river biofilms.

In 2025, she joined the GICOM research group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where she is currently carrying out her doctoral thesis as part of the Industrial Doctorates programme of the Government of Catalonia, in collaboration between this university and the company Aeris Tecnologies Ambientals. Her PhD research is framed within the European AquaLoops4Med project (I3 Project Grants, GA 101161349), focusing on solid-state fermentation of digestate from livestock waste for the production of biostimulants and biopesticides. Her supervisors are Dr Xavier Font and Dr Oscar Mauricio Martínez.

Hui Zhou, originally from China, is a researcher who obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering at Huaqiao University, specialising in biological control of pathogenic fungi in insects. She later completed a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Guizhou Minzu University, during which she actively participated in several research projects, mainly related to decentralised treatment of rural wastewater, the characteristics of karst plateau lakes, disinfection by-products, and nitrogen removal.

After finishing her Master’s degree, Hui Zhou worked at Guizhou Bofan Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., gaining substantial experience in environmental consulting, particularly in industrial environmental assessments and other related evaluations.

She is currently a PhD candidate in the Environmental Science and Technology programme in the Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, supported by a CSC scholarship, and is a member of the GICOM research group. Her current research focuses on “Enhancing Biogas Production in Psychrophilic Anaerobic Digestion: The Role of Additives,” under the supervision of Dr Xavier Font Segura, Dr Raquel Barrena Gómez and Dr Zhongzhong Wang.

M. Àngels Gordillo
Felícitas Vázquez
Estel·la Pagans
Sergi Ponsà Salas
Luz Ruggieri
Erasmo Cadena
Tahseen Sayara
Joan Colón
Michele Pognani
Sonia Recillas
Belén Puyuelo
Angélica María Santis
Juliana Abraham
Mamdouh El-Bakry
Caterina Maulini
Rebeca Contreras
Ana García
Lucía Delgado
Alejandra Cerda
Cindy Vanessa Ballardo
Ahmad Abo-Marked
Noraziahay Yazid
María Marín
Pedro Jiménez
Oscar Mauricio Martínez
Alejandra Rodríguez
Paula Rodríguez
Eva Catalán
Laura Mejías
Rafael Gabriel
Nathaly Eras
Seyed Alireza Vali
Anna Carrasco
Jose Antonio Bueno
Carlos Solano