ESR10 – Allisson Barros de Souza

Allisson Barros de Souza is a dual BR|ES citizen as he was born in Brazil but grew up in Tarragona, a small town close to Barcelona (Spain). He is a chemist with a master’s degree in Applied Chromatographic Techniques from Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona). During his undergraduate studies, he participated in the Erasmus+ Programme as a Visiting Student at the Kaunas University of Technology (Kaunas, Lithuania). His project involved the synthesis of metal–free phosphorescent organic compounds that can be used as oxygen probes, replacing this way the use of toxic and expensive heavy–metals (e.g. Ir, Rh).

After that, he jumped into industry to become familiar with research in the private sector before graduating. He ended up working at the Innovation Center of Procter & Gamble in Brussels, as an R&D Intern. Allisson was introduced to the fast–moving consumer goods (FMCG) business and how innovation plays a vital role within the company. His research focused on the improvement of suds mileage in liquid hand dishwashing detergents, marketed as Fairy|Dreft. Suds mileage is a key factor when talking about product performance, therefore its continuous improvement is required.

After completing his undergraduate, he came back to academia to pursue a specialization in analytical chemistry, a research field that attracted him since analytical results can have a broad impact on society, such as: helping establishing new regulations, meeting safety standards for drugs, water, food etc., providing evidences to overcome an issue etc. His M.Sc. focused on the applicability of the latest trends in chromatography and mass spectrometry in different working areas. For his 6–month master’s thesis, he joined the HQ of Philip Morris International in Switzerland, where he developed a sensible LC–MS method to determine the deposition of tobacco –smoke and –aerosol on surfaces.

One of the most exciting challenges in liquid chromatography is the use of 2D–LC when facing complex samples. This technique has been for years mostly used in academia, but recent advances and ease to use along with its huge potential for the analysis of complex matrices (e.g. pharmaceutical, food and environmental analysis) will spread its applicability in the industry. He would like to contribute towards the development of this promising technique, now as an Early Stage Researcher (ESR 10) at Agilent Technologies (Waldbronn, Germany) alongside the InnovEOX consortium. Under the supervision of Dr. Tom van de Goor (Agilent) and Dr. Deirdre Cabooter (KU Leuven), he is working on “developing multidimensional liquid chromatography separations with mass spectrometry as a generic method to study the degradation of environmentally relevant micropollutants”. Allisson enjoys travelling, learning new cultures and languages (5 so far), cooking and hiking.