Info
- ORCID: 0000-0003-0792-9114
- Email: maria.pinel@uab.cat
Bio
Dra. Maria Pinel Cabello is a Biologist (University of Granada, 2015) and Biotechnologist (University of Granada, 2016). She finished her PhD studies in the Department of Microbiology of the University of Granada (2021), working on the understanding of the microbial mechanisms involved in heavy metal resistance within the concept of the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste, with a multidisciplinary approach combining microscopic, spectroscopic and omic techniques. During her predoctoral period, she stablished multiple collaborations with international research groups that led to two short stays, working with Dr. Ramiro Vilchez at the University Hospital of the University of Magdeburg (Germany), and with Dra. Virginie Chapon and Dra. Catherine Berthomieu at the Biosciences and Biotechnology Institute of Aix-Marseille (BIAM) of the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA, France). In 2022, she joined at the Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona with a Margarita Salas contract.
Her research centers on the study of the microbial interactions with toxic compounds, determining the basis of the most relevant biological processes in the degradation or reduction of these pollutants in soil and water. She currently focuses on the assessment of the metabolic potential of a toluene-degrading consortium in anoxic conditions with bioremediation purposes.
Current research interests
- Evaluation of the microbial biodegradation of organic contaminants.
- Identification of key genes and proteins for the microbial degradation of organic compounds.
- Characterization of bacterial strains able to degrade contaminants in anaerobic conditions.