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Dr Cintia Iha

Pronouns: she,her,hers

Research Scientist

https://people.csiro.au/I/C/cintia-iha

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Biography

Dr Cintia Iha is a Research Scientist at the Australian National Algae Culture Collection (ANACC) in Hobart, Australia. Her main research project at ANACC is on Intelligent Algae Bioprospecting by Environomics FSP. She combines algae phylogenetic and modern omics technologies (genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) with machine learning algorithms to predict sources of valuable bioproducts across algae species.

Dr Iha is also involved with population genetic studies of the underwater forest forming giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) in Tasmania, which has been disappearing off the Tasmanian coast due to climate change. Her work is fundamental to reforestation programs. She has also published the organellar genomes of Tasmanian giant kelp.

Since her undergraduate research, Dr Iha has been working and studying the systematics and evolution of algae, especially seaweeds. During her MSc, she combined DNA barcoding, phylogenetics and traditional morphological techniques for seaweed taxonomy. She described one new seaweed genus and five new species in the red seaweed order Gelidiales. Dr Iha has a great interest in algal evolution. During her PhD, she used genomic information to elucidate high taxonomy classification of the agar-producing red seaweed order Gracilariales and discovered that plasmids mediate the organellar genome evolution of these seaweeds.

As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr Iha got involved with several projects involving algal evolution, genomics, population genomics, and microbiomes.

Academic Qualifications

  • 2018

    PhD
    University of São Paulo, Brazil

  • 2014

    MSc
    Univeristy of São Paulo, Brazil

  • 2011

    BSc
    Univeristy of São Paulo, Brazil

Current Roles

  • Research Scientist
    Intelligent Algae Bioprospecting - Environomics FSP

Professional Experiences

  • 2021-2022

    Postdoctoral Research Associate
    Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Univerity of Tasmania

  • 2021-2022

    Experimental Scientist
    Aust National Algae Culture Collection, CSIRO

  • 2019-2020

    Research Fellow Algal Genomics
    University of Melbourne

Professional Areas

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Publications

We have publications by Dr Cintia Iha