Clinical Microbiology: Open Access

Ani Ioana Cotar

Ani Ioana Cotar
EUPHEM fellow, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Sweden

Biography

Dr. Ani Ioana Cotar started her career as microbiologist in November 2001 in the “Cantacuzino” Institute from Bucharest. From 2005 she started to work as young researcher in the teams of different research projects gained by competition in “Cantacuzino” Institute, and in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of the Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, being responsible for development and optimization of the molecular diagnosis methods of bacterial pathogens (Legionella spp, Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia conorii, Leptospira and Borrelia burgdorferi) (PCR, real-time PCR, sequencing). During the PhD thesis and postdoctoral fellowship she acquired experience in new research fields: antibiotic resistance, i.e., the investigation of resistance mechanisms in clinical and environmental isolates as well as their genetic determinants; bacterial virulence, i.e. phenotypic investigation of the microbial virulence potential, the detection of the virulence genes and of their regulators; study of the virulence and quorum sensing regulators expression in the presence of microbicidal (new antimicrobial agents, plant extracts, probiotics) / anti-pathogenic ones (quorum sensing inhibitors, heat shock proteins immunization) for the development of new anti-infectious strategies; the investigation of host-infectious agent (highlighting ways of communication between bacterial and eukaryotic host cells); investigation of bacterial interactions with inert substrata in order to select biomaterials with potential use in medicine; the study of interactions of different types of nanoparticles and microspheres obtained from biodegradable natural polymers with prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, in planktonic and adhered state, in order to achieve optimized surfaces with anti-biofilm properties, of systems for stabilizing active principles with antimicrobial activity, and of systems for controlled release of antibiotics.

Research Interest

Dr. Ani Ioana Cotar intersted in research projects concerning molecular methods in diagnosis of bacterial and viral infections.