Maya Dimova Lambreva Pagina Personale

The research is focused on unraveling the correlation between structure and functionality of pigment-protein complexes involved in light transduction and conversion reactions of photosynthesis, using mutants of the model green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The ultimate goal of the research has been to design, produce and characterize appositely modified strains to be exploited as life-regenerative supporting system in manned space missions, robust and sensitive sensing elements in development of biosensors for food and environmental monitoring, and for production of high added-value compounds for nutraceutical applications.

My current interests are focused on exploring possibilities to use carbon-based nanomaterials for promoting the solar energy conversion in hybrid natural/artificial systems. This research includes deciphering the of energy/electron fluxes between the CNTs and pigment-protein assembles involved in the photosynthetic harvesting and transduction of light energy. I am also interested in elucidating the relationship between the nanomaterials’ properties and their biological behaviour.

Keywords: plant physiology and biochemistry, chlorophyll a fluorescence induction and quenching analyses, photosynthetic gas-exchange in liquid and gas phase, antioxidant enzymes and oxidative-stress correlated markers, carbon-based nanomaterials

Research sector: ERC Sector LS, Life Science, LS9 Applied life sciences and biotechnology

Research Interests:

• Function and organization of photosynthetic apparatus – biophysical and biochemical aspects. Photosystem II electron transport efficiency.
• Environmental stress. Plant response to environmental factors and mechanisms of adaptation and acclimation: i) photoinhibition under low and high temperatures; ii) acclimation of photosynthesis to elevated CO₂ concentration, photochemical and non-photochemical processes; iii) photosynthetic response to space ionizing radiation; iv) interaction of photosynthetic functions with herbicides, heavy metals and nanomaterials.
• Applied research: i) design, characterization and application of photosynthetic organisms in biosensoristic, nutraceutical and space fields; ii) electrochemical and optical bio-recognition of toxic compounds driven by Photosystem II-based biosensors; iii) material-based applications in algal nanobiotechnology

Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.it/citations?hl=it&user=tPrTZBQAAAAJ

WOS Researcher ID: https://publons.com/researcher/1384053/maya-d-lambreva/

Scopus Author ID:7801545717

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5750-0899