The Barboza Lab
MicroBioSint

 ​Our group investigates bacteria and the biomolecules synthesized by these microorganisms. We utilize bacteria and yeast as microbial cell factories to express proteins that are of biotechnological interest in applications related to food, crop protection, veterinary practices, environmental science, and biomedicine.

We study the modular structure of various proteins to understand the functional role of each domain and to create synthetic proteins with new or improved functions.

We are focused on designing, building, and testing bioparts to create toolkits for use in synthetic biology. Our main goals include constructing cell-free systems for low-cost protein expression and developing biosensors or methods to detect pathogenic bacteria in food. Additionally, we aim to express and produce proteins through precision fermentation to create alternative pet foods.