Head of Departiment
Department of Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Villa Comunale
80121 Napoli - Italia
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Secondary (external) affiliation: Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Green Technology, University of Southern Denmark (Odense, DK)
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NjbYLtIAAAAJ&hl=en
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2910-2089
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-fabris/
ERC research fields:
LS9_1 Applied biotechnology (including transgenic organisms, applied genetics and genomics, biosensors, bioreactors, microbiology, bioactive compounds)
LS9_2 Applied bioengineering, synthetic biology, chemical biology, nanobiotechnology, metabolic
engineering, protein and glyco-engineering, tissue engineering, biocatalysis, biomimetic
Research Interests
I am a molecular and synthetic biologist specialized in microalgae, unicellular photosynthetic organisms that play a crucial role in global ecosystems and hold significant promise for addressing the climate crisis. My work centers on the genetics and biochemistry of ecologically and industrially important algal species, focusing on harnessing their untapped potential for sustainable environmental and industrial applications. By integrating functional genomics and synthetic biology, I aim to understand, re-design, and engineer key traits in algal cells to develop novel strains optimized for advanced biotechnological and environmental purposes.
Selected Publications
- Morelli L, Jensen C, Arnspang CE, Fabris M. Modular Expression of Botryococcus braunii Genes Enhances Isoprenoid Production in the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.5c00898
- Patwari P, Moses T, Arnspang CE, Fabris M. Real-Time Tracking of Intracellular Prenyl Phosphate Pools in the Marine Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum with a Metabolite Protein-Based Biosensor. 2026. ACS Synthetic Biology 2026 15 (2), 437-451
- Patwari P, Pruckner F, Morelli L, Fabris M. Repurposing the diatom periplastidial compartment for heterologous terpenoid production. 2025. bioRxiv 2025.12.05.692597
- FabrisM,GeorgeJ,KuzhiumparambilU,LawsonCA,Jaramillo-MadridAC,AbbrianoRM,VickersCE,RalphP. ExtrachromosomalgeneticengineeringofthemarinediatomPhaeodactylumtricornutumenablestheheterologous production of monoterpenoids. ACS Synthetic Biology 9(3), 598-612. 2020
- Pollier J, Vancaester E, Kuzhiumparambil U, Vickers C E, Vandepoele K, Goossens A, Fabris M. A widespread alternativesqualeneepoxidaseparticipatesineukaryotesteroidbiosynthesis.Naturemicrobiology4(2),226-233. 2019. (featured on cover: link)
