Ph. D. Student
Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology Department (BLUEBIO)
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Sicily Marine Centre
Villa Pace - C.da Porticatello 29
98167 Messina – Italy
Tel.: +39 3773035401
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Director of Studies: Carmen Rizzo
Internal Supervisor(s): Chiara Lauritano
External Supervisor: Simon Robert Collinson, Angelina Lo Giudice (advisor)
Program: Open University, XXVI cycle
Research Interests
My main research interests lie in marine biotechnology and microbial ecology, with a particular focus on microorganisms living in extreme environments. Currently, my PhD project aims at discovering novel biosurfactants produced by bacteria and microalgae inhabiting extreme marine ecosystems. Biosurfactants, renewable and environmentally friendly molecules, are gaining significant scientific attention in several fields, i.e. medicine, pharmaceuticals and environmental science due to their valuable properties. Unlike chemical surfactants, which are typically derived from non-renewable petrochemicals and oleochemicals, biosurfactants are produced by microorganisms and plants, making them a valid and sustainable alternative. By targeting heavy metal-tolerant bacteria and microalgae, the project is focused not only on the optimization of the cost-effectiveness and production of biosurfactants, but also on the exploration of innovative approaches for heavy metal bioremediation. In my previous work, I was employed in isolation and cultivation techniques of heterotrophic bacteria from polar sea ice and seawater, analyzing their diversity and investigating the presence of Cas9 orthologs specifically adapted to these extreme environments.
