Dr. Fengzheng Gao
Dr. Fengzheng Gao
Staff of Professorship for Sustainable Food Processing
Additional information
Research area
Microalgae in Human Nutrition and Health
Dr. Fengzheng Gao is an Established Researcher specializing in Microalgal Biotechnology for different applications. He holds two PhD degrees, one in Bioprocess Engineering obtained from Wageningen University, The Netherlands (2021) and another one in Aquatic Product Processing and Storage Engineering obtained from Ocean University of China, China (2019).
Dr. Gao is the holder of the Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowship (Swiss transitional measure for the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie program) from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Between 2021 and 2022, he was the Project Leader of an NWO Science XS project funded by the Dutch Research Council and was involved in a project funded by the Seed Fund Alliance (EWUU) Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University, Utrecht University, and University Medical Center Utrecht, working on oxygen production from 3D bioprinted living microalgae for regenerative medicine (cartilage, liver, heart, and skin). Between 2017 and 2021, he was involved in the large European Horizon 2020 project MAGNIFICENT (16 partners from 7 European countries), working on fucoxanthin and docosahexaenoic acid production in the microalga Tisochrysis lutea. In 2021, he obtained a Scientific Exchange Grant from the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) to do research at GreenCoLab, Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), and NECTON S.A. in Portugal. In 2022, He obtained the VLAG Research Fellowship from Wageningen University to visit University College London and University of Cambridge in the UK. Dr. Gao has given more than 40 oral presentations on Microalgal Biotechnology during multiple large international conferences.
In December of 2022, Dr. Gao joined ETH Zurich as the Team Leader of the Microalgae in Human Nutrition and Health R&D, a joint strategic research line between Sustainable Food Processing Group and Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics. One of the key focuses of Dr. Gao is using microalgae for micronutrient deficiency treatment, for instance iron deficiency treatment. Iron deficiency is the most common global nutritional deficiency, affecting more than 2 billion people, among which more than half are anaemic. Dr. Gao aims to investigate the bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and bioactivity of micronutrients from different microalgae using in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo methodologies.
Additional information
Publications:
1. Gao F., Cabanelas I.T.D., Wijffels R.H., Barbosa M.J. (2022). Fucoxanthin and docosahexaenoic acid production by cold-adapted Tisochrysis lutea. New Biotechnology, 66, 16-24.
2. Gao F., Sá M., Cabanelas I.T.D., Wijffels R.H. and Barbosa M.J. (2021). Improved fucoxanthin and docosahexaenoic acid productivities of a sorted self-settling Tisochrysis lutea phenotype at pilot scale. Bioresource Technology, 325, 124725.
3. Gao F.#, Sá M.#, Cabanelas I.T.D., Wijffels R.H., Barbosa M.J. (2021). Production and monitoring of biomass and fucoxanthin with brown microalgae under outdoor conditions. Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 118(3), 1355-1365. (#authors contributed equally)
4. Gao F., Woolschot S., Cabanelas I. T. D., Wijffels R. H., & Barbosa M. J. (2021). Light spectra as triggers for sorting improved strains of Tisochrysis lutea. Bioresource Technology, 321, 124434.
5. Gao F., Miao Y, Guo W., Zeng M. (2021). Microalgal nanosized polyphosphate bodies as novel iron supplements for iron-deficiency anemia treatment in rats. Food Bioscience, 39, 100834.
6. Gao F., Cabanelas I.T.D., Ferrer-Ledo N., Wijffels R.H., Barbosa M.J. (2020). Production and high throughput quantification of fucoxanthin and lipids in Tisochrysis lutea using single-cell fluorescence. Bioresource Technology, 318, 124104.
7. Gao F., Cabanelas I.T.D., Wijffels R.H., Barbosa M.J. (2020). Process optimization of fucoxanthin production with Tisochrysis lutea. Bioresource Technology, 315, 123894.
8. Gao F., Guo W., Zeng M., Feng Y., Feng G. (2019). Effect of microalgae as iron supplements on iron-deficiency anemia in rats. Food & Function, 10(2), 723-732.
9. Gao F., Wu H., Zeng M., Huang M., Feng G. (2018). Overproduction, purification, and characterization of nanosized polyphosphate bodies from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Microbial Cell Factories, 17, 27.
10. Qin, S., Wang, K., Gao, F., Ge, B., Cui, H., & Li, W. (2023). Biotechnologies for bulk production of microalgal biomass: from mass cultivation to dried biomass acquisition. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, 16(1), 131.
11. Chen, C., Tao, F., Han, T., Gao, F., Dong, T., Jiang, W., ... & Li, B. (2022). Photoacclimation caused by high frequency flashing light assists Chlorella sp. M-12 wastewater treatment and biomass accumulation in dark color biogas slurry. Journal of Applied Phycology, 34(6), 2929-2940.
12. Boboescu I.Z., Kazbar A., Stegemüller L., Lazeroms P., Triantafyllou T., Gao F., Lo C., Barbosa M.J., Eppink M.H.M., Wijffels R.H. (2022). Mild acoustic processing of Tisochrysis lutea for multiproduct biorefineries. Bioresource Technology, doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127582
13. Lu H., He S., Zhang G., Gao F., & Zhao R. (2022). Periodic oxygen supplementation drives efficient metabolism for enhancing valuable bioresource production in photosynthetic bacteria wastewater treatment. Bioresource Technology, 347, 126678.
14. Mendes M.C., Navalho S., Ferreira A., Paulino C., Figueiredo D., Silva D., Gao F., Gama F., Bombo G., Jacinto R., Aveiro S.S., Schulze P.S.C., Gonçalves A.T., Pereira H., Gouveia L., Patarra R.F., Abreu M.H., Silva J.L., Navalho J., Varela J.C.S., Speranza L.G. (2022). Algae as food in Europe: An overview of species diversity and their application. Foods, 11(13), p.1871.
15. Sá M., Ferrer-Ledo N., Gao F., Bertinetto C.G., Jansen J., Crespo J.G., Wijffels R.H., Barbosa M.J., Galinha CF. (2022). Perspectives of fluorescence spectroscopy for online monitoring in microalgae industry. Microbial Biotechnology. doi:10.1111/1751-7915.14013
16. Lu X., Cui Y., Chen Y., Xiao Y., Song X., Gao F., Xiang Y., Hou C., Wang J., Gan Q., Zheng X., Lu Y. (2021). Sustainable development of microalgal biotechnology in coastal zone for aquaculture and food. Science of the Total Environment, 780, 146369.
17. Yu R., Chai H., Yu Z., Wu X., Liu Y., Shen L., Li J., Ye J., Liu D., Ma T. Gao F., Zeng W. (2020). Behavior and mechanism of cesium biosorption from aqueous solution by living Synechococcus PCC7002. Microorganisms, 8(4), 491.
18. Gao F., Qin S., Ge B. (2022). Microalgal industry and biomass application in China and Europe: a review. Marine Sciences, 46(9):146-158. (in Chinese with English abstract)
19. Gao F., Ge B., Xiang W., Qin S. (2021). Development of microalgal industries in the past 60 years due to biotechnological research in China: A Review. SCIENTIA SINICA Vitae, 21(1), 26-39. (In Chinese with English abstract)
20. Gao F., Feng G., Guo W., Zeng M. (2019). Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002: A potential microbial cell factory for polyphosphate bodies production, Algal Biomass & Bio-economy, 1, 25-30.
21. Gao F., Zhao Y., Zhao J., Zeng M. (2015). Detection and separation of the siderophores from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Microbiology China, 42(2): 231−237. (In Chinese with English abstract)
22. Gao F., Zeng M., Wu H. (2015). Optimization of the fermentation conditions for siderophores from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 by response surface methodology. Science and Technology of Food Industry, 39(19): 224-232 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Awards:
1. 2021: European Union-Young Algaeneers Innovation Award (Silver Winner, funded by European Commission)
2. 2021: Best Oral Presentation (International Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Liaoning, China)
3. 2021: Best Oral Award (International symposium of East Asia Fisheries Technologists Association, Sanya, China)
4. 2020: Silver Medal of the Best Microalgae Awards (European Algae Biomass Association)
5. 2020: The Best NBV Poster Award (Dutch Biotechnology Association)
6. 2020: Mary Rosenthal Memorial Travel Grant (The Algae Foundation, US)