DC3 - Sandra Bejar Hermoza

Advisors: Javier Dieguez-Uribeondo, Massimiliano Fenice, Nura el Khouri

Home institution: Universidad Internacional Menedez Pelayo - CSIC

Summary: I am a Peruvian biologist currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP-CSIC). I am conducting the research project, “Identification of fungal pathogens in algal blooms in key threatened saltwater and freshwater lagoons in Spain,” at the Real Jardín Botánico-CSIC in Madrid. The project investigates how environmental factors—such as temperature, salinity, and nutrient concentrations—influence algal colonization and the development of fungal diseases. The expected outcomes include the identification and isolation of key fungal pathogens through eDNA sequencing and the analysis of their interactions with algal hosts.

Contact: sbejar@rjb.csic.es

Planned secondment(s): 
At UNITUS with Massimiliano Fenice for water quality measurements 
At UIBK with Sigrid Neuhauser to analyse fungal-algal host interactions with advanced electron and confocal microscopy techniques.