Biographical note

Associate professor with a CNPq Research Productivity Scholarship - Level 2. Scopus Author ID 37067328300. ORCID 0000-0002-5438-7795. ResearcherID: T-5594-2018. He completed his graduation in Biological Sciences (Bachelor's and Licentiate) at UFAL (Federal University of Alagoas - Brazil) in 2003; the master's and doctorate in Agricultural Microbiology from the Luiz de Queiroz Higher School of Agriculture of the University of São Paulo (ESALQ/USP - 2005 and 2009); Post-Doctorate by the Institute of Technology and Research in Aracaju/SE (2010-2011); Business Post-Doctorate at Algae Biotecnologia (2012); University of São Paulo (CENA/USP) (2013). He is currently a PPG I-1 professor at Tiradentes University (UNIT) and a researcher at the Institute of Technology and Research (ITP), located at UNIT. He is accredited as a Permanent Professor in the Graduate Program in Process Engineering (PEP) at Tiradentes University (CAPES Concept 5) since 2014. He participates in the CNPQ research groups "Water Resources, Ecotoxicology, and Environmental Technologies", "BIOMAFARTEC- Bioprospection of molecules with pharmacological and technological activities", "Energy, Materials and Catalytic Processes", and "Advanced Oxidative Processes". He had a brief experience as a visiting researcher in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa with Professor Samir Kumar Khanal. He serves as an editorial board member for the World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology as well as a Review Editor for the journal Frontiers in Microbiology. He is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe [FAPITEC/SE] and reviewer of development projects of several research foundations in Brazil (FAPESP, CNPq, and FAPITEC), as well as foundations of international research institutions such as the International Foundation for Science. He has published 90 articles in specialized journals, 20 book chapters published between national and international publishers, and has 7 patent filings. It has an H index = 16, with more than 850 citations (Scopus base). He supervised 11 master's dissertations, 3 doctoral thesis, 17 scientific initiation works, 2-course conclusion works, and 1 monograph of a lato sensu specialization course. He has been working as a reviewer for 50 international journals and 5 national. Between 2010 and 2022 he participated in 15 research projects, of which he coordinated 3. He currently participates in 3 research projects. He works in the Environmental Engineering/Microbiology/Ecotoxicology area, with an emphasis on Bioengineering; Biotechnology/Environmental Engineering; Bioremediation; Biocatalysis; enzymes; immobilization; Green Chemistry; Biomaterials; Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Bioreactors. In his professional activities, he interacted with 150 collaborators in co-authorship of scientific works. He is currently developing research projects with International Universities and/or research institutions in China (Huaiyin Institute of Technology), Mexico (School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Monterrey), Israel (Agriculture Research Organization, Volcani center), South Korea (Dongguk University), United States (the University of Hawaii at Manoa), Austria (Medizinische Universität Innsbruck), United Kingdom (Coventry University UK), India (Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Jaypee University of Information Technology), among others. Dr. Ajay Kumar is currently working as an assistant professor at Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India. Dr. Kumar recently completed his tenure as a visiting scientist from Agriculture Research Organization, Volcani Center, Israel. He has published more than 175 research, review articles, and book chapters in international and national journals. He serves as an associate editor for Frontiers in Microbiology and as guest editor for various journals such as Plants, Microorganisms, and Sustainability. Dr. Kumar has also edited more than 32 books with the leading publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley. Dr. Kumar’s research experience is in the field of plant–microbe interactions, postharvest management, cyanobacterial biology, and so on. Muhammad Bilal is working as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland. Previously, he served as an assistant/associate Professor at Poznan University of Technology, Poland, and the School of Life Science and Food Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, China. He earned his Ph.D. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, specializing in bioengineering and applied biotechnology. His main research activities are oriented to Environmental biotechnology, nanotechnology, enzyme engineering, immobilization, chemical modifications, and industrial applications of microbial enzymes, liquid, and solid waste management. He has authored over 700 peer-reviewed articles, 150 book chapters, 25 edited books. Dr. Bilal is the associate editor of Frontiers in Chemical Engineering and Frontiers in Environmental Science (Frontiers), and an editorial board member for several journals. He was listed as a highly cited researcher (Clarivate) in 2021 and holds several "highly cited papers" in WOS.