Mariana Lopes
University of Massachusetts, MA·Engineering·Early-career
Biofilms are thin layers of bacteria that stick to wet surfaces and cause problems in hospitals, water systems, ships and food production. Current fixes rely on toxic chemicals, special coatings or heavy scrubbing, which are costly, short-lived and harmful to the environment.
- Fields
Engineering
Microbiology & Immunology
Materials Science
- Topics
biofilms
biofouling
microbial fouling
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2031
What they work on
- Quantify how UV dose and exposure time change bacterial attachment, extracellular polymeric substance release, motility and inactivation, using UV-emitting glass in microfluidic flow cells with phase-contrast microscopy.
- Measure biofilm thickness, porosity and roughness in real time with optical coherence tomography, comparing internal and external UV delivery across pH, temperature, salinity, flow and nutrient conditions.
- Build predictive models linking UV irradiance and environment to cell and biofilm outcomes, using automated image analysis and machine learning-assisted cell tracking.
- Extend self-emitting UV surface technology from flat UV-emitting glass to complex, non-planar shapes such as ship hulls, medical devices and water pipes.
More about the research
This project asks whether surfaces that give off ultraviolet (UV) light from inside the material can stop bacteria from attaching in the first place, and how bacteria actually respond to light at a surface.
Why it matters
Chemical-free, light-based surfaces that keep bacteria from attaching could help prevent biofilms in water treatment, hospitals and medical devices, ship hulls and food production. This approach may reduce reliance on toxic chemicals, short-lived coatings and costly cleaning. It could lower both expenses and environmental harm.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Shubhra Pasayat
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Engineering·Early-career
Develop porous semiconductor substrates that are mechanically flexible and reflective, to relieve strain in III-nitride ultraviolet LED layers and redefine their critical thickness limits.
Stephen Boppart
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL·Biomedical Engineering
Test whether adding optical coherence tomography, a light-based imaging method that sees behind the eardrum, to standard pneumatic otoscopy improves diagnostic accuracy and reduces antibiotic prescriptions in children presenting to primary care with ear pain or suspected otitis media.
Caitlyn Butler
University of Massachusetts, MA·Engineering
Demonstrate that oxygenic photogranules, dense clusters of algae, cyanobacteria and bacteria, stay intact and grow stably in nutrient-poor secondary effluent by measuring granule formation, size distribution, density, porosity and shear resistance.
The school
University of Massachusetts: 28 labs on PI Pages, $282M a year on research, 337 research doctorates a year.
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