Rare Microbes, Novel Molecules: Dora Ferreira on the Art of Scientific Discovery

For PhD student Dora Ferreira, the world of natural products is full of hidden stories — and her job is to uncover them. At the heart of her research lies a powerful combination of genomics and metabolomics, aimed at discovering new molecules from rare actinomycetes. In this interview, Dora shares what it’s like to work at the crossroads of data and discovery, the joy of scientific secondments, and why the collaborative spirit of MAGic-MOLFUN is just as important as the science itself.

Thursday 31 July 2025

One line summary of your PhD for someone outside NPs field?

I use metabologenomics to discover new compounds from rare actinomycetes.

Who’s one collaborator you’ve really enjoyed working with?

I really enjoyed my secondment at Wageningen University and Research (WUR), where I worked closely with my colleagues Rosina and Annette and my co-supervisor Justin van der Hooft. During this time, I was involved in the NPLinker project and acquired bioinformatic skills, which were very new to me.

Which part of your work do you enjoy the most (or least!) and why?

What I enjoy the most is prioritizing new molecules for characterization. Finding intriguing biosynthetic gene clusters and linking them to metabolites (or the other way around) is a very challenging but exciting process. It's like connecting pieces of a puzzle.

What makes being a part of the MAGic-MOLFUN network special for you?

Working in a network full of people with distinct, but complementary skills in NP research has been a great experience. Getting along so well with all the other DCs and to consider them friends also makes collaborating way easier and more fun!

Any dream job or position you have in mind?

I hope I can keep working on NP research, preferably in an industrial setting.

Funniest or weirdest lab moment so far?

Dropping a bottle containing a very foul-smelling extract I spent the whole day extracting (and about a month to cultivate the strain) was definitely one of the least funny moments.

About Dora Ferreira

Dora’s project, titled “Uncovering the biosynthetic potential of a rare actinomycetes genus coupling genomics and metabolomics data,” is all about finding new bioactive compounds in hard-to-study microbes. By combining DNA data (genomics) with information about the molecules those microbes produce (metabolomics), she’s developing workflows to quickly evaluate which strains are most promising. Once those are prioritized, she isolates and studies their compounds, potentially uncovering entirely new substances that could have real-world applications in medicine, biotechnology, or agriculture.