Célia Manaia has a background in Biochemistry and a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Coimbra, Portugal. She obtained her Habilitation at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Porto. Manaia is currently Associate Professor of Microbiology and Genetics at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, where she also coordinates the bachelor’s in microbiology and the master’s programs in related fields. At the Porto Regional Center of the same university, she serves as Vice-President for Research and Internationalization.
As a researcher, she leads the Bacterial Ecology Group at the Centro de Biotecnologia de Química Fina. Her work focuses on bacterial taxonomy, evolution, and ecology, with particular emphasis on human-environment interfaces and the environmental dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. She has made significant contributions to understanding the impact of wastewater treatment plant emissions, the risks associated with water reuse, the tracking of resistant bacteria and genes in the environment, and the evolution of advanced water treatment processes. She has also contributed to international efforts to harmonize methodologies for monitoring antibiotic resistance in water environment.
Célia Manaia has integrated international research consortia and collaborated with public organizations and businesses, including WHO, FAO, and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. She currently holds several leadership roles and editorial roles: Vice-President of the Portuguese Society of Microbiology, member of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes, Editor of the International Journal of Systematics and Evolutionary Microbiology (Microbiology Society, UK), and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Science: Advances (The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK).
