Meet the Scientist - Professor Nicolae Corcionivoschi

This month Professor Nicolae Corcionivoschi talks about his role in AFBI.

I am originally from Banat, a small region in the south-west of Transylvania in Romania. I have a BSc degree in Animal Biotechnology and an MSc in Animal Nutrition from King Michael I University, Timisoara, Romania. In 2005 I was awarded a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh for work on bacterial electron transport proteins.

My research interests include bacterial virulence, isolation and testing of novel pre and probiotics, and the development of novel technologies for more efficient detection of foodborne pathogens. My laboratory is performing advanced research in developing methodologies to quantify Campylobacter in poultry based on virulence of individual species and also the identification of novel genes involved in the pathogenesis of this microorganism. My group is also performing research trying to understand the composition of the chicken gut microbiota and how this relates to the presence of bacteria posing a threat to human health and especially in finding ways to manipulate the gut microbiota to reduce their presence.

I also supervise two PhD students funded by industry investigating the role of current biosecurity and management regulations on the virulence of Campylobacter isolates in Northern Ireland.

I am very much a lab based project leader. My own lab project aims to identify the host receptors for a novel Campylobacter toxin. Once we have identified the receptor we can then design inhibitors which can ultimately lead to a product that will reduce Campylobacter colonization of poultry. We also expect to have a novel Campylobacter vaccine in animal tests in next couple of months.

We have now completed the microbiome analysis of broilers in the presence of essential oils in collaboration with London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Currently a more ambitious project has started to characterize the microbiome of broilers in four gastrointestinal compartments during 35 days of production cycle at an interval of 24 hours.

Facts about Professor Nicolae Corcionivoschi:

What is the last book you read?
I don’t really have time to read anything else than scientific papers, however I am struggling for the last few month to read the History of Romanovs.

Who would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?
Michael Palin as there will be lots to talk about

If you weren’t in your current position what job/career would you like to be doing?
I would probably be a farmer but who knows ...

Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and what is its name?
Yes, we have 9 year old cat called Missi

What is your favourite team/sport you support?
I can watch tennis for days!

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