MARÍA
Gómez Brandón
Associate Professor
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
My research interests lie in the field of microbial ecology, soil biodiversity and waste management. Simply put, I have been “engaged” to microorganisms since I began my scientific journey and studying them under different scenarios has always been my major focus of interest. Generally speaking, microorganisms play key roles in carbon and nutrient cycling, plant and animal health, and agriculture. Changes in their diversity and activities will have an influence on the resilience of all other organisms and hence on the ecosystem functioning. It is therefore crucial to broaden our knowledge about the microbial “unseen” majority because although invisible to the naked eye, they are vital components of our lives. I currently work on three main lines of research.
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SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
2024
85) Gómez-Brandón M., Beesigamukama D., Probst M., Klammsteiner T., Zhou Y., Zhu Y.-G., Tanga, C., 2024. Garden fruit chafer (Pachnoda sinuata L.) accelerates recycling and bioremediation of animal waste. Waste Management 173:131-140.
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84) Muñiz-González A.B., Mendes L.A., Gómez-Brandón M., Quintela-Sabarís C., Rupani P., Domínguez J., 2024. Earthworms and microplastics: transport from sewage sludge to soil, antibiotic-resistance genes, and soil remediation. In: Huang K., Bhat S.A., Li F., Kumar V. (Eds). Earthworm technology in organic waste management. Elsevier, pp. 207-220.
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83) Santini G., Probst M., Gómez-Brandón M., Manfredi C., Ceccherini M.T., Pietramellara G., Santorufo L., Maisto G., 2024. Microbiome dynamics of soils covered by plastic and bioplastic mulches. Biology and Fertility of Soils 60:183-198.
2023
82) Siles J.A., Gómez-Brandón M., Insam H., Probst M., 2023. Soil microbes along elevational gradients: community structure, diversity, and role in nutrient cycling. Editorial. Frontiers in Microbiology 14:1266325.
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81) Probst M., Gómez-Brandón M., Herbón C., Barral M.T., Paradelo R., 2023. Fungal-bacterial associations in urban allotment garden soils. Applied Soil Ecology 188:104896. The first two authors contributed equally to this work.
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80) Kooch Y., Parsapur M.K., Nouraei A., Kartalaei Z.M., Wu D., Gómez-Brandón M., Lucas-Borja M. E., 2023. The effect of silvicultural systems on soil function depends on bedrock geology and altitude. Journal of Environmental Management 345:118657.
79) Gómez-Brandón M., Probst M., Insam H., Fernández-Delgado Juárez M., 2023. Nutrient recycling of fly ashes from fast pyrolysis as an innovative treatment for organic waste. In: Ravindran B., Gupta S.K., Bhat S.A., Chauhan P.S., Tyagi N. (eds.). Recent Trends in Solid Waste Treatment. Elsevier, pp. 1-22.
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78) Gómez-Brandón M., Aira M., Domínguez J., 2023. Vermicomposting as an Eco-friendly approach for recycling and valorization of grape waste. In: Mupambwa H.A., Horn L.N., Mnkeni P.N.S. (eds.). Vermicomposting for sustainable food systems in Africa. Springer, pp. 111-127.
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77) Insam H., Klammsteiner T., Gómez-Brandón M., 2023. Biology of Compost. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, 294-301.
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76) Gómez-Brandón M., Lores M., Domínguez J., 2023. Recycling and valorization of distilled grape marc through vermicomposting: a pilot-scale study. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management 25:1509-1518.
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JOINING THE TEAM
I am looking for motivated and engaged (under)graduate students that have a specific interest in microbial ecology or environmental research related to the fields on this website. I am also opened to discuss some other research questions within the field of soil ecology and waste management you may be interested in. Please do not hesitate to get in touch for further details!
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TEAM AND COLLABORATORS
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I strongly believe that establishing collaborations is an important value in science. It gives you the possibility to exchange ideas and face new challenges that will help you to grow as a scientist and as a person. Here it is my scientific collaboration network (always looking to add to it!):
NEWS
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February 2024: Glad to participate in "Día da Muller e a Nena na Ciencia" in my hometown. Thanks for the invitation! I had a great time. Here is the link: https://www.carballo.org/novas.php?id=9277&idioma=gl&sec=30.
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January 2024: New publication in Waste Management together with colleagues from the University of Innsbruck (Austria), Icipe research center (Kenia) and Institute of Urban Environment (Chinese Academy of Sciences). We showed the potential of insect larvae for organic waste biconversion with a special focus on microbiome and resistome changes. More to come very soon. Endless thanks for this joint effort!
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September 2023: Happy to contribute to the G-Night ("Noite Galega das Persoas Investigadoras") with the activity "Diving into soil" promoted by Unidade de Cultura Científica at the University of Vigo. Here is the link:http://gnight.gal/expo-feira-cientifica-no-berbes/. We had a lot of fun!
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September 2023: Glad to participate in the initiative "Quero ser Investigadora" promoted by Unidade de Cultura Científica at the University of Vigo. Thanks for the invitation! Here is the link: http://ucc.webs.uvigo.es/quero-ser-investigadora-3/
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July 2023: Alejandro, Adrián and Xoaquín successfully defended their Bachelor theses. Congrats to all!​
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July 2023: Susana successfully defended her Master thesis on waste valorisation with insect larvae. Well done!
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June 2023: New publication in Journal of Environmental Management together with Prof. Yahya Kooch from Tarbiat Modares University. Thanks for this nice collaboration!
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March 2023: New publication in Applied Soil Ecology dealing with fungal-bacterial interactions in urban allotment gardens. Thanks to all the co-authors!
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