Francesca Molinari
Doctoral Student
Department of Biological & Environmental SciencesAbout Francesca Molinari
My current PhD project aims at the development of better biomarkers for contaminants of emerging concern in marine fish and meiofauna and is part of the EU funded project CONTRAST https://www.contrastproject.eu . As part of this project, I am looking at developing a biological marker for the hypothalamic pituitary thyroid axis in fish, as no validated biomarkers currently exist for environmental monitoring of the hypothalamic pituitary thyroid (HPT) axis in fish. In meiofauna, instead, I am working to standardize and streamline the process of species identification and biodiversity assessment. Despite being highly sensitive to chemical stressors, meiofaunal diversity remains largely ignored in EU environmental monitoring, mainly because traditional identification via microscopy requires considerable time and effort.
I have a background in marine science and ecotoxicology. My past research focussed on the mechanisms of uptake of chemicals into fish and on the study of the toxicity of emerging classes of compounds in marine flora and fauna.