Zaposleni CV (EN)

Neža Orel

• Boris Petelin

SHORT CV

2011-2014: Bachelor's study of Environmental Sciences (1st level)., School of Environmental Sciences, University of Nova Gorica. Bachelor thesis "Impact of pollutant mixture on microbial community in seawater from Gulf of Trieste", mentor prof. dr. Valentina Turk, co-mentor: dr. Tinkara Tinta.

2014-2017: Master's study of Environmental Sciences (2nd level)., School of Environmental Sciences, University of Nova Gorica.. Master thesis "Response of the microbial community to a mixture of hazardous compounds, mentor prof. dr. Valentina Turk.

2018-2019: Professional Associate at Marine biology station Piran.

October 2019: I am in the PhD program at School of Environmental Sciences (University of Nova Gorica). I work as young researcher at the Marine biology station Piran under supervision of prof. dr. Valentina Turk, where I study potential pathogenic microorganisms in marine environment.

DRUGE AKTIVNOSTI

IZBRANE (NOVEJŠE) OBJAVE

Celotni seznam moje literature iz zbirke Cobiss

Timotej Turk Dermastia

• Boris Petelin

SHORT CV

I began my research career at the Marine Biology Station Piran (NIB) during my PhD, focusing on harmful algal blooms, phytoplankton diversity in the Slovenian Sea, molecular detection methods, and advanced bioinformatics. I earned my PhD in Ecotechnology from the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School in October 2021, with the dissertation Diversity, ecology and sensing of the toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia in the Gulf of Trieste.

During my PhD, I expanded my research to diatom viruses, leading to my postdoctoral project Diatom Viruses and Their Role in Organic Matter Cycling in Coastal Seas (funded in October 2022). Through this project, we successfully isolated and characterized the first known viruses infecting Pseudo-nitzschia (project details).

In 2024, I was awarded a Fulbright Visiting Scholar grant to join the Kay Bidle and Kim Thamatrakoln Lab at Rutgers University, where I investigated how viral infections affect diatom aggregation. This research included participation in a two-week oceanographic expedition in the California Current Ecosystem, studying the interplay of viral infection, turbulence, sinking, and aggregation.

My current research explores how viral infections shape biogeochemical cycles and microbial communities, while I continue to develop molecular tools for phytoplankton monitoring.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

I frequently write for popular science magazines and websites, where I try to bring my scientific interest to the general public and even children. For my science communication excellence I received the Prometheus of Science award in 2018 and along with other members of the In the Swirl of Change Symposium organizing committee also in 2021.  I was the winner of the 2019 ScienceSlam contest (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2415422218692959). I am a member of the executive board of the Slovenian Natural History Society and a member of the Council for Antarctic and Arctic Research of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (https://www.sazu.si/svet-za-raziskave-antarktike-in-arktike). I was also a co-chair and founding member of the young scientist leg of the Euromarine network (OYSTER https://euromarinenetwork.eu/oyster/).

SELECTED (NEWER) PUBLICATIONS

1. TURK DERMASTIA, Timotej, FRANCÉ, Janja, ARAPOV, Jasna,, NERI, Francesca, ACCORONI, Stefano, TOTTI, Cecilia, CERINO, Federica, FERRANTE, Mariella Immacolata., BERNARDI AUBRY, Fabrizio, FINOTTO, Stefania, GODRIJAN, Jelena, DRAKULOVIĆ, Dragana, MOZETIČ, Patricija, 2025. Comprehensive Insights into Pseudo-nitzschia Research in the Adriatic Sea: Diverse Perspectives and Emerging Discoveries. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Jul. 2025, vol. 319, [art. No.] 109283.

2. TURK DERMASTIA, Timotej, KUTNJAK, Denis, GUTIÉRREZ-AGUIRRE, Ion, BRUSSAARD, Corina P. D., BAČNIK, Katarina. Discovery of novel and known viruses associated with toxigenic and non-toxigenic bloom forming diatoms from the Northern Adriatic Sea. Harmful algae. Nov. 2024, vol. 139, [art. no.] 102737, str. 1-13, ilustr. ISSN 1568-9883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2024.102737

3. TURK DERMASTIA, Timotej, VASCOTTO, Ivano, FRANCÉ, Janja, STANKOVIĆ, David, MOZETIČ, Patricija. Evaluation of the rbcL marker for metabarcoding of marine diatoms and inference of population structure of selected genera. Frontiers in microbiology. Mar. 2023, vol. 14, str. 1-21, ilustr. ISSN 1664-302X. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1071379, DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1071379. [COBISS.SI-ID 143697411]

4. TURK DERMASTIA, Timotej, DALL’ARA, Sonia, DOLENC, Jožica, MOZETIČ, Patricija. Toxicity of the Diatom Genus Pseudo-nitzschia (Bacillariophyceae) : insights from toxicity tests and genetic screening in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Toxins : Elektronski vir. 2022, vol. 14, iss. 1, str. 1-17, ilustr. ISSN 2072-6651. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/1/60/htm, https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=137126, DOI: 10.3390/toxins14010060. [COBISS.SI-ID 94153219]

5. TURK DERMASTIA, Timotej, CERINO, Federica, STANKOVIĆ, David, FRANCÉ, Janja, RAMŠAK, Andreja, TUŠEK-ŽNIDARIČ, Magda, BERAN, Alfred, NATALI, Vanessa, CABRINI, Marina, MOZETIČ, Patricija. Ecological time series and integrative taxonomy unveil seasonality and diversity of the toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia H. Peragallo in the northern Adriatic Sea. Harmful algae. Mar. 2020, vol. 93, 101773, str. 1-20, ilustr. ISSN 1568-9883. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568988320300536?via%3Dihub, https://dirros.openscience.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=11205, DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2020.101773. [COBISS.SI-ID 40469253]

 Link to COBISS, a Slovenian database containing all my publications

Ana Lokovšek

• Boris Petelin

SHORT CV

I was born on 17. 11. 1995 in Ljubljana, where I successfully finished high school at the Biotechnical Educational Centre (BIC Ljubljana). After finishing high school, I enrolled at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, where I graduated in 2018. The sea and especially fish have always fascinated me, so after graduation I decided to do an Erasmus+ internship at the Malta National Aquarium, where I worked as an aquarist for six months and learned a lot about a variety of marine animals from all over the world. In 2019, I continued my studies at the University of Primorska, where I enrolled in the Master's programme Nature Conservation at the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies. During my Master's studies I was already associated with the Marine Biology Station. In summer 2020 I completed my internship at the Marine Biology station and later participated in the project Pirates of Plastics - Go Europe, which focuses on micro(plastic) pollution in European rivers.

In September 2021 I successfully completed my Master's thesis "Food habits of painted comber (Serranus scriba) and brown comber (Serranus hepatus) in the Slovenian sea" under the supervision of Prof. dr. Lovrenc Lipej and dr. Domen Trkov. After completing my Master's degree, I enrolled in the PhD programme Ecotechnology at the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate school in Ljubljana (MPS) and started working at the Marine Biology Station Piran as a young researcher. For my PhD research I am currently working on the restoration of brown algal forests in the northern Adriatic Sea under the supervision of dr. Martina Orlando Bonaca.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

SELECTED (NEWER) PUBLICATIONS

Tanja Kobal

• Boris Petelin

SHORT CV

I earned my bachelor's degree in Biology at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana and continued my studies there in the master's programs of Ecology and Biodiversity and Microbiology. Under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Katarina Vogel Mikuš, I successfully defended my master's thesis titled "Decontamination of Selected Fungal Species from Common Buckwheat Seeds with Low-pressure Cold Gas Plasma" in August 2023. I also received the faculty's Prešeren Award for my thesis. I am completing my master's work in microbiology
under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Blaž Stres and co-mentorship of Prof. Dr. Christine Moissl-Eichinger. In October 2023, I started working as a young researcher at the Marine Biology Station Piran of the National Institute of Biology and enrolled in the doctoral program in Biosciences at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana. As part of my doctorate, I am studying the effects of microplastics and other pollutants on marine mussels under the mentorship of Assist. Prof. Dr. Andreja Ramšak.