Nerea GARCÍA-VELASCO

Graduated in Environmental Sciences in 2010 at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). MsC (2011) and PhD (2017) in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology at the Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology of the University of the Basque Country. Her thesis was entitled “Toxicity assessment of silver nanoparticles in soils through standard tests, an integrated battery of biomarkers at different levels of biological complexity and in vitro approaches with coelomocytes in Eisenia fetida» (international PhD with Cum Laude mention). She has been researcher of the Group Cell Biology in Environmental Toxicology (CBET) since 2012. In this period, she has collaborated in different research projects and contracts with private companies (MINECO, Basque Government-Elkartek: K-Egokitzen and Berrilur-, De Sangosse). As a results of her participation in these projects she has published more than 5 articles in scientific journals (most publications Q1) and has presented more than 30 contributions to national and international congresses (2 invited). She has stayed for 3 months at the Centre of Bioscience of the University of Aarhus (Denmark, 2015) working on the toxicity assessment of nanoparticles to immune cells of earthworms and for 1 week at the University of Piemonte Orientale (Italy, 2013) on activities related with environmental physiology. Her main research interests are focused on the assessment of toxic effects of environmental pollutants (metals) and emerging contaminants (nanoparticles) on soils and sediments using different approaches: standard tests (OECD, ISO), biomarkers measured at different levels of biological complexity and in vitro assays. During her research years she has achieved a great variety of laboratory skills and she has used a number of cutting edge techniques related with cell Biology and nanotoxicology (i.e. molecular biology, cell culturing, flow cytometry, histology, advanced microscopy, nanoparticles characterization). She also has expertise assessing sediments toxicity, the toxic action of molluscicide and searching for Omega-3 and antioxidant compounds production from marine resources. ORCID: 0000-0002-5487-1093; Web of Science ResearcherID:R-8937-2019.