Dr. Eugenia Messina | Industrial Biotechnology | Best Researcher Award
Research Fellow at University of Bari Aldo Moro | Italy
Dr. Eugenia Messina is a distinguished researcher in biotechnology and microbial metabolic engineering, currently serving as a Research Fellow at the Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies, and Environment, University of Bari “Aldo Moro,” Italy. Her research focuses on the metabolic and genetic engineering of Yarrowia lipolytica and other non-conventional yeasts for the sustainable synthesis of industrially relevant compounds and the bioconversion of plastic-derived monomers. She has made significant contributions to the development of microbial platforms for plastic upcycling, biochemical characterization of mitochondrial transporters, and metabolic pathways related to fatty acid and isocitric acid production. Messina has authored 8 scientific documents indexed in Scopus, which have collectively received 110 citations from 108 documents, reflecting an h-index of 6-demonstrating the growing influence and recognition of her research. Her publications include papers in Bioresource Technology, Pharmaceutics, Microbial Cell Factories, Frontiers in Microbiology, Metabolic Engineering, FEBS Letters, and Biochemical Journal, along with a European patent on the metabolic engineering of Yarrowia lipolytica for isocitric acid production. She has been recognized with the HERITAGE 2024 Award from the Biotechnology Group of the Italian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SIB), as well as multiple travel grants and presentation awards. Through interdisciplinary research and innovative approaches in bioengineering, Messina’s work contributes to advancing circular bioeconomy strategies, microbial biotechnology, and sustainable bioprocess development.
Featured Publications
Brito, D. S., Agrimi, G., Charton, L., Brilhaus, D., Bitetto, M. G., Lana-Costa, J., Messina, E., Nascimento, C. P., Feitosa-Araújo, E., Pires, M. V., Pérez-Díaz, J. L., Obata, T., Porcelli, V., Palmieri, L., Araújo, W. L., Weber, A. P. M., Linka, N., Fernie, A. R., Palmieri, F., & Nunes-Nesi, A. (2020). Biochemical and functional characterization of a mitochondrial citrate carrier in Arabidopsis thaliana. Biochemical Journal, 477(9), 1759–1777.
Yuzbasheva, E. Y., Scarcia, P., Yuzbashev, T. V., Messina, E., Kosikhina, I. M., Palmieri, L., Shutov, A. V., Taratynova, M. O., Amaro, R. L., Palmieri, F., Sineoky, S. P., & Agrimi, G. (2021). Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica for the selective and high-level production of isocitric acid through manipulation of mitochondrial dicarboxylate-tricarboxylate carriers. Metabolic Engineering, 65, 156–166.
Messina, E., de Souza, C. P., Cappella, C., Barile, S. N., Scarcia, P., Pisano, I., Palmieri, L., Nicaud, J. M., & Agrimi, G. (2023). Genetic inactivation of the carnitine/acetyl-carnitine mitochondrial carrier of Yarrowia lipolytica leads to enhanced odd-chain fatty acid production. Microbial Cell Factories, 22(1), 128.
Castellani, S., Iaconisi, G. N., Tripaldi, F., Porcelli, V., Trapani, A., Messina, E., Guerra, L., Di Franco, C., Maruccio, G., Monteduro, A. G., Corbo, F., Di Gioia, S., Trapani, G., & Conese, M. (2024). Dopamine and citicoline co-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles as multifunctional nanomedicines for Parkinson’s disease treatment by intranasal administration. Pharmaceutics, 16(8), 1048.
Messina, E., Zbigniew, L., Barile, S., Moroz, P., Scarcia, P., Palmieri, L., Pisano, I., & Agrimi, G. (2025). Acetate co-feeding increases ethylene glycol assimilation and glycolic acid production in Yarrowia lipolytica. Bioresource Technology. (Accepted October 2025).