Maria Nicoară

Maria Nicoară
PhD student passionate about molecular biology and data visualization/analysis, applied especially on aquatic environments. Fascinated about microalgal compounds such as toxins and fatty acids.
Email:
maria.nicoara@icbcluj.ro
- REASEARCH
- PROJECTS
- PUBLICATIONS
My expertise comprises growing phytoplankton cultures and conducting mesocosms experiments in freshwater and marine environments, while also focusing on science dissemination (admin of @instalgae Instagram account) and training undergraduate students.
- Visiting Researcher (2024, Hellenic Center for Marine Research HCMR, Heraklion, Greece) – training on using flow cytometry as a tool for investigating planktonic communities
- Visiting Researcher (2024, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK) – training on microalgal toxin detection by using mass spectrometry
- PredAqua (2024 – 2026) – creating and maintaining multi-species freshwater communities followed by detecting and investigating the key interactions within organisms
- ZeoCyan (2022-2024) – using the effluent of wastewater treatment plants to grow cyanobacterial biofilm on zeolite substrate, which can further be used as biofertilizer
- Aquacosm TA (2023, Estación de Ciencias Mariñas de Toralla ECIMAT, Vigo, Spain) – investigating allelopathic effects of marine seagrass Zostera marina against harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum
- ADVANCE (2020-2023) – adaptive evolution in marine algae under climate change and consequences for ocean services
- Briddon C, Miclăuș M, Hegedüs A, Nicoară M, Chiriac M-C, Drugă B, 2023. Long-term exposure to elevated temperature leads to altered gene expression in a common bloom-forming cyanobacterium. Limnology and Oceanography, 68 (12): 2654-2667. Doi:1002/lno.12448
- Briddon C, Nicoară M, Hegedüs A, Niculea A, Bellerby R, Eikrem W, Crespo B, Dupont S, Drugă B, 2023. Acclimation to various temperature and pCO2 levels does not impact the competitive ability of two strains of Skeletonema marinoi in natural communities. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1197570. Doi: 3389/fmars.2023.1197570
- Briddon C, Szekeres E, Hegedüs A, Nicoară M, Chiriac C, Stockenreiter M, Drugă B, 2022. The combined impact of low temperatures and shifting phosphorus availability on the competitive ability of cyanobacteria. Scientific Reports, 12 (1): 1-13. Doi: 1038/s41598-022-20580-2