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Areas of expertise
Biography
Dr. Erik Chovancek completed his academic studies at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. He acquired a bachelor`s degree in Applied Biology (2013) and a master`s degree (Hons) in Plant Sciences (2017). The topic of his doctoral research was `Evaluation of physiological traits and environmental plasticity of genetic resources of wheat using phenomic approaches` (2017-2020). During his studies, he broadened his expertise while staying in different research groups - at the University of Helsinki, Shandong Agricultural University (China), and the University of Münster (Germany). He joined the PhotoMicrobes group at the University of Turku as a postdoctoral researcher in 2021. He established a phenotyping pipeline for screening microalgae for plant biostimulant effects and designed a stepwise microalgae processing method for increased stimulatory effects.
Research
In the current research, I am developing a plant biostimulant formulation from suitable microalgae. I have screened several microalgal strains from the NORCCA collection for stimulating effects on plant growth and development and I have designed a stepwise biomass extraction process that rendered extract with 30 % plant root stimulation. A credible biostimulant presents a unique opportunity for reducing fertilizer overuse in agroindustry. Therefore, I want to describe the biostimulant`s mode of action by utilizing a state-of-the-art multi-omics approach. Eventually, the stimulant will be produced from a microalgal culture cultivated in the otherwise environmentally detrimental greenhouse wastewater, and this will lay the ground for a sustainable and circular greenhouse model.