PhD supervisor: Prof. Giuseppe Legname, Laboratory of Prion Biology

Summary of career/studies:

I graduated with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology in Medicine from the Department of Biotechnology of the University of Rijeka (UniRi) where I also obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and Drug Research.

I spent the last two academic years of my studies at the Department of Biology of the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana (UniLj) as a part of the ERASMUS+ student exchange programme and the CEEPUS student internship programme.

For my Master’s thesis I worked on a research project at UniLj in the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. During my Master’s thesis project I gained new knowledge on intricacies of differential gene expression to various environmental stimuli.

Participation in the CEEPUS student internship programme allowed me to work in the Photoreception Laboratory where I had a chance to investigate photoreceptor responses of numerous insects by studying and recording insects’ electroretinograms and making intracellular recordings from retinal photoreceptors and second-order neurons (LMCs). As a part of my internship, I had the opportunity to visit the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, in Japan, where I worked in the Histology Laboratory learning about sample preparation techniques for electron microscopy, ultramicrotomy and section imaging using transmission electron microscope.

I’ve chosen a PhD in Functional and Structural Genomics to get a clearer insight into the “whys” and the “hows” of human neurodegenerative disorders but also to participate in the efforts of treatment development that will alleviate the symptoms, slow down the progression of the aforementioned disorders and someday, maybe even cure the suffering patients.