M Manuela R da Fonseca research interests are focused on the industrial biotechnology/bioprocess areas, with current topics including (i) upgrade of agri-food residues and algal hydrolysates by microbial cultures, with particular emphasis on C5 sugars, (ii) production of chemical intermediates, artificial sweeteners and biopolymers (namely polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHAs), (iii) implementation of green methods for the extraction of lipophilic intracellular compounds and (iv) exploitation of organic-aqueous systems for the degradation of xenobiotics by selected bacterial species.