Environmental and host-associated microbial studies from an ecological and genomic point of view using massive sequencing, bioinformatics and experimental tools both in the laboratory and in the field.

Undergraduate Teaching

- 2024 Course “Microbiology” for students of Agronomy, Forestry Engineering and Nutrition, Universidad Mayor. Professor in charge.

- 2024 Course “Microbiology” for students of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering, Universidad Mayor. Professor in charge.

- 2024 Course “Microbiology” for students of Nursing, Universidad Mayor. Professor in charge.

- 2023 Course "Technical English-1" for Biotechnology students, Universidad Mayor. Professor in charge.

- 2022-present Course "Microbiology" for students of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering, Universidad Mayor. Sections 1 and 2. Professor in charge.

- 2021 Course "Environmental Biotechnology" for Biotechnology students, Universidad Mayor. Guest professor.

- 2012 Course "Bromatology and Food Analysis" for students of Nutrition and Dietetics, Universidad San Sebastián. Professor in charge.

- 2008-2009 Course "Plant Biotechnology" for Agronomy students, Universidad de Viña del Mar. Guest professor.

- 2007 Practical teaching course "Cellular Biology" for students of Molecular Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile.

Postgraduate Teaching

- 2024 Course “Advanced Techniques in Molecular Biology and Genomics” for PhD students in Integrative Genomics, Universidad Mayor. Collegiate course; Professor responsible for microbiome analysis section (QIIME2 platform; MicrobiomeAnalyst) and co-occurrence networks (Cystoscape/CONET).

- 2023-present Course "Ecogenomics" for PhD students of Integrative Ecology, Universidad Mayor. Lecturer in charge.

- 2022-present Course "Environmental Sciences" for PhD students of Integrative Ecology, Universidad Mayor. Lecturer in charge.

- 2021-present Course "Microbial Ecology" for students of the PhD in Integrative Ecology, Universidad Mayor. Lecturer in charge.

- 2021-present Course "Experimental techniques in genomics" for students of the PhD in Integrative Ecology, Universidad Mayor. Lecturer in charge.

- 2021 Course "Module 7: Final work" for students of the Diploma in Quantitative Research Methodology, Universidad Mayor. Lecturer in charge.

- 2020 Course "Seminar II: Discussion of Scientific Projects" for students of the PhD in Forestry, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, South Campus, Universidad de Chile. Invited lecturer.

Undergraduate Thesis Directorships

- 2023-present Thesis director of the student Diego Varas for the degree of Veterinary Doctor, Universidad Mayor. "Effect of atmospheric pollutants on the taxonomic composition and antibiotic resistance of the cultivable bacterial community of the aerobiome".

- 2023-present Thesis director of the student Loreto González for the degree of Veterinary Doctor, Universidad Mayor. "Search for a culture medium that maximizes the capture of microorganisms from the air".

- 2022-present Thesis director of the student Karina Díaz for the degree of Engineer in Molecular Biotechnology, Universidad de Chile. "Study of air microbial communities subjected to contrasting pollutant gases in the Metropolitan Region of Chile".

- 2022-2023 Co-director of the thesis of the student Victoria Olivencia for the degree of Biotechnologist, Universidad Mayor. "Distribution and diversity of fungal communities associated with human activities in the region of Coquimbo, Chile".

- 2021-2023 Thesis director of the student Romina Madrid Núñez for the degree of Biotechnologist, Universidad Mayor. "Study of air microbial communities associated with particulate matter in the Metropolitan Region of Chile".

- 2021-2023 Co-director of student Lucas Pino for the degree of Biotechnology Engineer, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM). "Study on the effect of the iron chelator deferiprone on the intestinal microbiome of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) infected with Piscirickettsia salmonis".

Postgraduate thesis supervisors

- 2024 Thesis supervisor of the student Romina Madrid for her for her PhD in Integrative Genomics, Universidad Mayor.

- 2023-present Thesis supervisor of the student Daniela Durán for her Master in Environment and Sustainable Development, Universidad Mayor

- 2022-present Thesis supervisor of the student Madelaine Mejías for her PhD in Integrative Ecology, Universidad Mayor.

- 2021-2022 Co-director of the thesis of the student Juan José Monroy for the degree of Master in Aquaculture Sciences, Universidad de Chile. "Essential oils as natural anaesthetics in the handling of Colossoma macropomum. A systematic review".

Research Units, Internships and Practices

- 2024 Internship of the student Ángel Muñoz, Forestry Engineering student, Universidad Mayor. “Microbiological and molecular characterization of rhizospheric bacteria”. Internship completed.

- 2024 Internship of the student Isabel Jaque, student of Forestry Engineering, Universidad Mayor. “Microbiological and molecular characterization of rhizospheric bacteria”. Internship completed.

- 2024 Internship of the student Camila Pinilla, student of Forestry Engineering, Universidad Mayor. “Microbiological and molecular characterization of rhizospheric bacteria”. Internship completed.

- 2024 Internship of the student Carla Peralta, student of Forest Engineering, Universidad Mayor. “Microbiological and molecular characterization of rhizospheric bacteria”. Internship completed.

- 2023 Internship of the student Carla Gimondo, student of Biotechnology, Universidad Mayor. “Microbiological and molecular characterization of multi-resistant airborne bacteria to antibiotics”. Internship completed.

- 2023 Internship of student Danae Muñoz, Biotechnology student, Universidad Mayor. "Microbiological and molecular characterisation of antibiotic resistant airborne bacteria".
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- 2022 Research Unit of the student Karina Díaz, student of Molecular Biotechnology Engineering, Universidad de Chile. "Generation of protocols for the study of air microbial communities subjected to contrasting pollutant gases in the Metropolitan Region, Chile".

- 2021 Professional practice of the student Romina Madrid Núñez, student of Biotechnology, Universidad Mayor. "Analysis of microbial communities using the QIIME2 programme".

Participation in undergraduate thesis commissions

- 2023 Gerardo de Lamotte. “Effect of photobiotic stress reduction on the Biodiversity - Ecosystemic Functioning relationship in functions associated with nitrogen cycling in soil bacterial communities of the Atacama Desert”. Biotechnology student, Universidad Mayor. Finished thesis.

Participation in postgraduate thesis commissions

- 2024 Claudia Hoepfner “ On microbial transitions across a depth gradient in the Uyuni Salt Flat”. Student of the PhD program in Integrative Genomics, Universidad Mayor.

- 2024 Sara Oliva “Metagenomic analysis of the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes in surface water according to land use and seasonality in the Maipo and Mapocho river basins”. Student of the PhD program in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Universidad Andrés Bello.

- 2024 María Fernanda Manrique “Habitat specificity and mechanisms for microbiome functional adaptation in Antarctic sponge holobionts”. Student of the PhD program in Integrative Genomics, Universidad Mayor.

- 2023-present Camilo Sánchez “Remobilization of Persistent Organic Pollutants from Antarctic secondary sources due to climate change”. Student of the PhD program in Integrative Ecology, Universidad Mayor.

- 2023-present Jahir Muñoz “Relationship between the gut microbiome and the physiological, behavioral and biological fitness performance of Drosophila melanogaster”. Student of the PhD program in Integrative Ecology, Universidad Mayor.

- 2023-present Gabriela Saavedra. “Understanding Sweet Cherry Autumn and Winter Phenology through omics integration”. Student of the PhD program in Integrative Genomics, Universidad Mayor.

- 2023-present Boris Vidal Veuthey. “In-silico Analysis of the Human Intestinal Secrebiome Associated with Metabolic Health”. Student of the PhD program in Integrative Genomics , Universidad Mayor.

- 2023-present Josefa Núñez Belmar. “New Insights Into the Diversity, Virulence and Fimbriae Adhesion Mechanics of the Oral Pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis”. Student of the PhD program in Integrative Genomics, Universidad Mayor.

Teaching outreach

- 2024. Participating teacher in the project “Workshops to raise awareness of the wonderful world of arthropods for kindergartens”. Tender for 50 educational workshops on arthropods for middle school students in the Vitacura district. Tender ID 2659-72-L124. Responsible teacher: Dr. Paul Amouroux.

- 2024. Teacher in charge of the Aerobiome Workshops developed in the Science Fair of the school “El Pequeño Estudiante” in the commune of Recoleta.

- 2023 Guiding teacher in collaboration workshops beteen Universidad Mayor and Par Explora RM Sur Poniente (MinCTCi)

- 2022 Guiding teacher for students of IV medio of the San José de Renca school in the development of the research project "Evaluation of the contribution of beneficial bacteria for plants in the growth of lavenders subjected to water deficit".

- 2021 Lecturer at the "Science Week" of the Nobel School of Parral, giving talks to teachers, students and their families.

- 2019 Organiser and teacher in charge of an experience proposal for schoolchildren to study the contribution of microorganisms in the tolerance of plants to water deficit financed by the Allende-Connelly Foundation and MINEDUC. Eight schools participated in this project throughout Chile (Coquimbo, Metropolitan and Maule Regions).

- 2012 "Natural Sciences" course for students from 6th to 8th grade at Santiago College. Replacement teacher.

- 2012 Lecturer in the Explora Conicyt Programme 1000 scientists 1000 classrooms, for secondary school students. Maule Region, Parral.

- 2007 Lecturer of the seminar "Molecular Gastronomy, functional and transgenic foods" for students of Gastronomy of the DUOC UC Institute.

Congresses

- 2023 Mejías M., Madrid R., Díaz K., Gimondo C., Varas D., Pulgar R., Mandakovic D. Characterization and analysis of resistance to antibiotics of the culturable bacterial community of aerobiome of the Región Metropolitana of Chile. XLV Chilean Congress of Microbiology of the Society of Microbiology of Chile SOMICH. December 4-7. Pucón, Chile.

- 2023 Madrid R., Mejías M., Díaz K., Pulgar R., Mandakovic D. Study of air microbial communities associated with particulate matter in the Metropolitan Region of Chile. XLV Chilean Congress of Microbiology of the Society of Microbiology of Chile SOMICH. December 4-7. Pucón, Chile.

- 2023 Mejías M., Madrid R., Díaz K., López W., Gimondo C., Varas D., Pulgar R., Mandakovic D. Characterization and antibiotic resistance analysis of the cultivable bacterial community of the aerobiome of the Metropolitan Region of Chile. Annual Meeting of Researchers, organized by the Vice-Rectory of Research of the Universidad Mayor. December 11-13, 2023. Santiago, Chile.

- 2023 FEMS Conference 2023. “Effect of contrasting atmospheric pollutant gases on cultivable air microbial communities”. K. Díaz, M. Mejías, R. Madrid, R. Pulgar, D. Mandakovic. July 9-13, Hamburg, Germany.

- 2021 III International Conference on Climate Change Education and Sustainable Development in Latin America: Urgent Action for Climate Transformation 2021. “Science Clubs and small research projects for Climate Change Education”. D. Mandakovic. June 23rd. Virtual Conference.

- 2021 Parallel Event CILAC Forum 2021. Symposium: “To learn Experimental Sciences, students must do Scientific Experiments”. Latin American Network of Biological Sciences (RELAB) and Allende Connelly Foundation (FAC). D. Mandakovic. April 27th. Virtual event.

- 2020 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Microbiome Virtual Meeting 2020. “Tomato cultivars with variable tolerances to water deficit differentially modulate the composition, functional capacities, and interaction patterns of their rhizobacterial communities”. D. Mandakovic, A. Gaete, R. Pulgar, M. González. October 20-23. Virtual Congress.

- 2019 Satellite Session “Desertification in Chile and Education to Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change” - for International Conference on Climate Change Education. “Proposal of experience for schoolchildren to study the contribution of microorganisms in plant tolerance to water deficit”. D. Mandakovic. May 8, Santiago, Chile. Oral presentation.

- 2019 EMBO Workshop Integrative biology: From molecules to ecosystems in extreme environments. “Plant-microbiome interactions modify the co-occurrence patterns of soil bacterial communities along an altitudinal gradient in the Andes of the Atacama Desert”. D. Mandakovic, M. González, J. Maldonado, M. Latorre, A. Gaete, C. Aguado, F. Maza, J. Vásquez, V. Cambiazo. April 22-25, Santiago, Chile. Oral presentation.

- 2018 XXIV Latin American Congress of Microbiology - ALAM 2018. “Structure and co-occurrence patterns in microbial communities under acute environmental stress reveal ecological factors fostering resilience”. D. Mandakovic, J. Maldonado, A. Gaete, C. Latorre, R. A. Gutiérrez, A. Maass, V. Cambiazo, S. A. Navarrete, D. Eveillard, M. González. November 13-16, Santiago, Chile.

- 2018 47th World Congress on Microbiology. “Structure and co-occurrence patterns in microbial communities under acute environmental stress reveal ecological factors fostering resilience”. D. Mandakovic, J. Maldonado, A. Gaete, C. Latorre, R. A. Gutiérrez, A. Maass, V. Cambiazo, S. A. Navarrete, D. Eveillard, M. González. September 10-11, London, United Kingdom.

- 2018 47th World Congress on Microbiology. “Effects of host cholesterol availability and distribution over the susceptibility of infection with Piscirickettsia salmonis”. R. Pulgar, L. Montt, I. Chavez, M. Mejias, A. Parra, F. Vera, V. Cambiazo, D. Mandakovic. September 10-11, London, United Kingdom.

Outreach

- 2024. Article in “El Mostrador” magazine on microbiology. Title “Invisible friends”. https://www.elmostrador.cl/universoparalelo/2024/10/02/tierra-de-microbios/

- 2024. Dissemination of project “Nurturing health: social and microbiological insights into breastfeeding in vegan women” in monthly pediatrics meeting Clínica Dávila.

- 2023. Reports in three national digital magazines on the studies of the interactions of soil bacteria with plants in the Atacama Desert.

How do bacteria and desert plants interact? https://www.cooperativaciencia.cl/2023/07/16/como-interactuan-bacterias-y-plantas-del-desierto/.
Plants and bacteria in the Atacama Desert: How can they survive in such inhospitable conditions? https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/plantas-y-bacterias-en-el-desierto-de-atacama-como-pueden-sobrevivir-en-condiciones-tan-inhospitas/AY3ODUNH4RF3PPYFRVLFBEFS4U/
GEMA U. Mayor researcher analyzed the interaction between bacteria and native plants of the Atacama Desert https://www.diariomayor.cl/ciencia-um/estudio-interaccion-entre-bacterias-y-plantas-autoctonas-del-desierto-de-atacama.html

- 2023. Recognition in social networks by ISME magazine. ISME Spotlighting: an Assistant Professor at @investigaumayor (@umayor), and her paper “Testing the stress gradient hypothesis in soil bacterial communities associated with vegetation belts in the Andean Atacama Desert.” #ISME_Spotlighting. https://www.instagram.com/p/CtZBg_dsmGj/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D.

- 2020. Rubilar PS., Tognarelli J., Fernández J., Valdés C., Broitman F., Mandakovic D., Pulgar R. Swine viral detection by adapted Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) for RNA and DNA species reveals first detection of porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) in Chile. bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.07.138925.

- 2018. Publication for general public “SCIMETRICA: Laboratory to support evidence-based silvoagricultural and veterinary production”. Revista Versión Diferente Salmón Acuícola. Year 15, Nº29.

- 2016. Publication for general public “Selection of restriction enzymes for the specific detection of Piscirickettsia salmonis by 16S rDNA PCR-RFLP”. Revista Versión Diferente Salmón Acuícola. May 2016 issue.

- 2014 Columnist for the section: Science, technology and society for the 7th grade Natural Science text “Sé Protagonista”, SM editions published under ISBN 9789563496093. The six columns were titled; 1) Green and blue bacteria, 2) Stem cells, 3) The Black Death-Understanding the past from Science, 4) Our friends the viruses!, 5) Beginning to understand human trisomies and 6) How Science allows us to forecast the future.

- 2014 Columnist for the section: Science, technology and society for the 8th grade Natural Science text “Sé Protagonista”, SM editions published under the ISBN 9789563496109. The six columns were titled; 1) Today's menu: Metals, 2) Biofactories, biosensors and diabetes, 3) Correcting what seemed uncorrectable. Gene Therapy, 4) Global Warming, 5) Metagenomics and 6) Nutri what?