Biography

Dr Rafael Carballeira has a degree in Biology U. Coruña (UDC 2009) and MsC in Molecular, Cellular and Genetic Biology (UDC 2010). Before starting his PhD, R.Carballeira worked as a researcher of the diatom test in drowning cases at the Inst. Forensic Sciences USC (U. Santiago Compostela). In 2013, he began the thesis at the Dept. Botany USC sharing his dedication with other research projects, and he defended the thesis at the Earth Sciences of the UDC (2021). During that period, he has developed his research and teaching activities related to fundamental and applied fields of botany, ecology of microalgae (diatoms) and (paleo)limnology (main topics of his PhD). He completed his experience on the taxonomy and microbial ecology of diatoms at the IRTA (Spain, R.Trobajo, 1 month 2012) and U. Aveiro (Portugal, S.Almeida, 3 months 2015-2016). Also, he worked on diatoms in paleoenvironmental studies of wetlands in the Atacama Desert at the U. Cologne (Germany, V.Weinrich).
His work focuses on understanding how the biology and ecology of microalgae is linked to essential biogeochemical processes in inland aquatic ecosystems, and subaerial environments, with relevant contributions to the taxonomy, biodiversity, ecology of diatoms and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, but also in applied fields such as the monitoring of reservoirs (phytoplankton image analysis methods); the validation of diatom test as a forensic tool; and control of subaerial algal biofilms on building Heritage in the context of smart cities. He has participated in 20 research projects with multiple and diverse research groups (10 non-oriented projects; 3 oriented to the transfer of knowledge to the public sector; 7 public-private collaboration projects). R.Carballeira has acquired initiative and management skills as a member of the research team in 8 of these projects and transversal skills, such as the ability to work in a team and adaptability depending on the objectives. After his PhD, I has worked at the Dept. Edaphology (USC) (Prof. X.Pontevedra) (2021-2022 Deputación Coruña Fellowship) on the use of diatoms as a potential tool in the biomonitoring of the ecological status of the Galician peatlands, and at the CICA-UDC (Prof. R.Bao) in the phytoplankton monitoring of the Cecebre reservoir. Given its complementarity, the acquisition of skills in molecular and chemical techniques in their fundamental and applied expertise in the paleolimnology would play a key role in advancing his career.
R.Carballeira (h-index 7) has a total of 24 indexed research articles (JCR) in the last 5 years (15(Q1), 5 first decile; 4(Q2); 1(Q3); 4(Q4)), with preferential positions in 13 articles and 1 in the Nature editorial group (Scientific Data), with multiple international collaborations (i.a. U. Oxford, U. Milan, CIBIO-InBIO/U. Açores, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, …). Also, he participated in multinational studies on limnology, such as the European Multi Lake Survey (EMLS). He co-authored a book chapter on the management and conservation plan of a degraded wetland. In addition, he has participated in 34 scientific conferences (23 posters; 9 oral presentations; 2 invited talks), 14 of them national and 20 international.