F. Xavier Malcata

F. Xavier Malcata is a Full Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Porto (Portugal), and a Senior Researcher at LEPABE/ALiCE, specialized in bioreactor engineering, bioprocess optimization, and food biotechnology. He holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Porto, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Food Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (USA), and a Habilitation in Food Science and Engineering from the Portuguese Catholic University. His leadership roles have included Dean of the College of Biotechnology (UCP), President of the Portuguese Society of Biotechnology, and CEO of several university-industry biotech-oriented initiatives.

Prof. Malcata has taught at top institutions in Portugal, covering key subjects such as bioreactor technology, fermentation engineering, enzyme engineering, and bioprocess control. His research focuses on bioreactor design and scale-up, medium formulation and nutrient delivery, microbial and enzymatic bioprocesses, metabolic engineering of microalgae for lipid production, and development of probiotic and functional foods.

He has published over 485 peer-reviewed articles, authored 21 books, and supervised 31 Ph.D. students. His work has earned international recognition from organizations such as the Institute of Food Technologists, American Oil Chemists’ Society, American Dairy Science Association, International Association for Food Protection, and European Federation of Food Science and Technology. According to the Stanford University global citation ranking, he is among the top 0.5% of the world’s most influential scientists.