Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lucian Barbu-Tudoran earned his degree in Structural Biology from Babeș-Bolyai University in June 2007. He is a member of the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Department at the Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, and the Head of the Electron Microscopy Integrated Laboratory at the National Institute for R&D of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Cluj-Napoca. His expertise spans various areas, including cell biology, material characterization, nanomaterials, nanoparticles, nanoscience, SEM and TEM image analysis, microstructures, and surface characterization.
Dr. Laura Mitrea earned her Ph.D. in Biotechnology in 2019 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Dan C. Vodnar. During her Ph.D. studies, she specialized in the microbial conversion of renewable biomass, such as waste cooking oil and biodiesel-derived glycerol, into valuable compounds like diols and organic acids with potential applications in the food sector. She gained extensive experience in alkali-catalyzed transesterification of lipids for biodiesel and crude glycerol production, as well as in bioreactor fermentation processes involving yeast and bacterial cultivation for targeted metabolite biosynthesis. Dr. Mitrea is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Food Science and Technology and the Faculty of Zootechnology and Biotechnology at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Her research focuses on food waste valorization through biotechnological methods and the use of nanoparticles for the controlled release of bioactive compounds.
