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Hire Dr. Stephanie F.

Ireland

USD 50 /hr

Chemist BSc, MSc; PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering

Profile Summary

PhD Project: “Investigation of nanoparticle-biofilm interactions and the role of the EPS matrix” (under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Eoin Casey – School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering - UCD The goal of this project is to investigate nanoparticle-biofilm interactions and use this knowledge to design smart nanoparticles to eradicate bacterial biofilms. I designed a pH-sensor based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles able to penetrate Pseudomonas biofilms and measure the pH in all directions. Currently, I am engineering nanoparticle surface chemistries to increase antibiotic encapsulation, to provide protection from deactivation in the biofilm matrix, while allowing targeted delivery to bacterial cells, decreasing the necessary concentration of antibiotics and curbing drug resistance. Master’s Project “Design of a tailored nanomaterial for sucrose capture and removal” (under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ljubica Tasic - Institute of Chemistry - UNICAMP) I extracted and purified the invertase enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, synthesized and functionalized magnetite nanoparticles and immobilized the enzyme on the surface of the nanoparticle. This system was employed in sucrose capture in order to produce low-calorie food for people with restrict diets (patent pending). Publications: - Fulaz, S., Devlin, H., Vitale, S., Quinn, L., Casey, E. Tailoring nanoparticle-biofilm interactions to increase efficacy of antimicrobial agents to combat resistant clinical S. aureus isolates. ACS Appli Mater Interfaces. 2020 (submitted). - Barros, C.H.N., Fulaz, S., Vitale, S., Casey, E., Quinn, L. Interactions between functionalised silica nanoparticles and P. fluorescens EPS: a focus on the protein corona. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2020 (under revision). - Devlin, H., Hiebner, D., Barros, C.H.N., Fulaz, S., Quinn, L., Vitale, S., Casey, E. A high throughput method to investigate nanoparticle entrapment efficiencies in biofilms. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2020 (under revision). - Fulaz, S., Hiebner, D., Barros, C.H.N., Devlin, H., Vitale, S., Quinn, L., Casey, E. Ratiometric imaging of the in situ pH distributions of biofilms by use of fluorescent mesoporous silica nanosensors. ACS Appli Mater Interfaces. 2019, 11, 32679-32688. - Fulaz, S., Vitale, S., Quinn, L., Casey, E. Nanoparticle-biofilm interaction: the role of the EPS matrix. Trends Microbiol. 2019, 27 (11), 915-926. - Stanisic, D; Fregonesi, N. L.; Barros, C. H. N.; Pontes, J. G. M.; Fulaz, S.; Menezes, U. J.; Nicoleti, J. L.; Castro, T. L. P.; Seyffert, N.; Azevedo, V.; Durán, N.; Portela, R. W.; Tasic, L. NMR insights on nano silver post-surgical treatment of superficial caseous lymphadenitis in small ruminants. RSC Adv. 2018, 8, 40778-40786. - Barros, C. H. N.; Fulaz, S.; Stanisic, D.; Tasic, L. Biogenic Nanosilver against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria (MDRB). Antibiotics. 2018, 7(3), 69. - Ballottin, D.; Fulaz, S.; Cabrini, F.; Tsukamoto, J.; Durán, N.; Alves, O.L.; Tasic, L. Antimicrobial textiles: Biogenic silver nanoparticles against Candida and Xanthomonas. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2017, 75, 582-589. - Ballottin, D.; Fulaz, S.; Souza, M. L.; Corio, P.; Rodrigues, A. G.; Souza, A. O.; Gaspari, P. M.; Gomes, A. F.; Gozzo, F.; Tasic, L. Elucidating protein involvement in the stabilization of the biogenic silver nanoparticles. Nanoscale Res Lett. 2016, 11, 313- 321.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Chemistry
• ☆ STEM
• ☆ Nanotechnology & Nanomaterials
• ☆ Nanotechnology
• ☆ Biochemistry
• ☆ Research
• ☆ Technical & Scientific Writing

Services

• Writing
• Research

Writing Technical Writing

Research Fact Checking, Gray Literature Search, Systematic Literature Review, Secondary Data Collection

Work Experience

PhD

University College Dublin

January 2018 - Present

Tutor: Biochemical Engineering Laboratory 2

University College Dublin

January 2018 - Present

Master

State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

March 2016 - December 2017

Teaching assistant: Molecular Biology

State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

February 2017 - July 2017

Tutor: Experimental Chemistry

State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

August 2015 - December 2015

Intern: Computational biology tools in design of an agrochemical against Xylella fastidiosa

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa)

March 2015 - December 2015

Assistant R&D

Brassuco Food Industry

March 2010 - February 2011

Education

PhD candidate (School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering)

University College Dublin

January 2018 - Present

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

(2020). A high throughput method to investigate nanoparticle entrapment efficiencies in biofilms . Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.

Stephanie Fulaz, Henry Devlin, Stefania Vitale, Laura Quinn, James P O&#39;Gara, Eoin Casey (2020). <p>Tailoring Nanoparticle-Biofilm Interactions to Increase the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Agents Against <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em></p> . International Journal of Nanomedicine.

(2020). Tailoring Nanoparticle-Biofilm Interactions to Increase the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Agents Against Staphylococcus aureus . International Journal of Nanomedicine.

(2019). Nanoparticle–Biofilm Interactions: The Role of the EPS Matrix . Trends in Microbiology.

(2018). NMR insights on nano silver post-surgical treatment of superficial caseous lymphadenitis in small ruminants . RSC Advances.

(2018). Biogenic Nanosilver against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria (MDRB) . Antibiotics.

(2017). Antimicrobial textiles: Biogenic silver nanoparticles against Candida and Xanthomonas . Materials Science and Engineering: C.

(2016). Elucidating Protein Involvement in the Stabilization of the Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles . Nanoscale Research Letters.