SHORT SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC LIFE

Maria Isabel Mora Garrido (Barcelona, 1983) is a Chemical Engineer (UAB, 2009), MSc in Environmental Studies (UAB, 2011) and PhD in Environmental Science and Technology (UAB, 2014) awarded with Cum Laude and International Mention (UAB, 2014). From 2011 she was doing her doctoral thesis entitled “Characterization of S-oxidizing biomass through respirometric techniques under anoxic and aerobic conditions”. The topic of her research was to gain understanding on the biological oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds by SOB obtained from different desulfurizing biotrickling filters. Respirometric and titrimetric experimental tests were used in order to obtain stoichiometric and kinetic data of the microbial populations. She was doing a research stay during 4 months in the Biological and Enzymatic Reactors research group at the University of Cádiz (Cádiz, Spain, 2012). During this period the characterization of biological sulfide oxidation under anoxic conditions was performed. A kinetic model was developed, calibrated and validated to describe the process. In 2014 she was doing another 4-months stay in the Environmental Biotechnology research group at Delft University of Technology (Delft, The Netherlands). During this last stay she was characterizing the biological oxidation of thiosulfate, elemental sulfur and sulfide under aerobic conditions. She has also co-supervised an MSc thesis related with the application of titrimetry to monitor and control different bioreactors.

Mabel’s current research interests are:

• Treatment and optimization of the biological processes involved in different pollution treatment technologies, specifically desulfurization in biofilters or biotrickling filters
• Application of respirometric techniques to study biodegradation mechanisms of RSC
• Modelling sulfur oxidation biokinetics under aerobic and anoxic conditions

As a result of her research, she has participated in different projects. She has published her research work in different international journals (Chemosphere, Chemical Engineering Journal, Water Research and Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology) and has contributed with 6 presentations to international conferences. Nowadays, after her PhD thesis defense (December 2014), she is a postdoctoral researcher in GENOCOV.

PUBLICATIONS

1. Mora, M., Lopez, L.R., Lafuente, J., Pérez, J., Kleerebezem, R., van Loosdrecht M.C., Gamisans, X., Gabriel, D. (2016). Respirometric characterization of aerobic sulfide, thiosulfate and elemental sulfur oxidation by S-oxidizing biomass: Water Research 89, 282-292.
   
2. Mora, M., Dorado, A.D., Gamisans, X., Gabriel, D. (2015). Investigating the kinetics of autotrophic denitrification with thiosulfate: Modeling the denitritation mechanisms and the effect of the acclimation of SO-NR cultures to nitrite: Chemical Engineering Journal 262, 235-241.
3. Mora, M., Guisasola, A., Gamisans, X., Gabriel, D. (2014b). Examining thiosulfate-driven autotrophic denitrification through respirometry: Chemosphere 113, 1-8.
4. Mora, M., Lopez, L.R., Gamisans, X., Gabriel, D. (2014c). Coupling respirometry and titrimetry for the characterization of the biological activity of a SO-NR consortium: Chemical Engineering Journal 251, 111-115.
5. Mora, M., Fernández, M., Gómez, J.M., Cantero, D., Lafuente, J., Gamisans, X., Gabriel, D. (2014a). Kinetic and stoichiometric characterization of anoxic sulfide oxidation by SO-NR mixed cultures from anoxic biotrickling filters. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.