Professor Denise Freire is the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Study at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is the Principal Investigator of the Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory (LaBiM) within the Institute for Chemistry at UFRJ. For thirty years she has led research groups that have focused on the use of plant and microbial lipases and microbial proteases. Research that has focused on the re-use of industrial residues and by-products, the enzymatic treatment of effluents and the production and the use of biosurfactants. With over 245 peer reviewed and published articles and 34 patents, she is one of Brazil’s leading and most successful scientists and probably the most successful in green biotechnology, her work has received 33 academic awards. As well as teaching, she has supervised 49 Masters dissertations and 35 PhDs. She is a leading government (CNPq/CAPES/FAPEREJ) consultant for industrial biotechnology projects and currently leads in industrial partnerships with Sinochem, Petrobras, Chevron, Agropalma and L’Oreal. She is on the editorial boards for the following international journals: Bioresearch and Biotechnology Inovation (Elsevier), Frontiers in Biocatalysis (Frontiers), Enzyme Research (Hindawi). In her current role as PVC Research and Postgraduate Studies she sets a positive, good humoured and resilient example of research excellence.
