Valentina Hurtado McCormick

Valentina Hurtado McCormick is a Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIRO Environment, where she works as an Impossible Without You (IWY) CERC Fellow to develop a bioplastics production platform using microalgal biopolymers from waste feedstocks. Her research integrates optimal microbe(s), cultivation systems, and harvesting processes for sustainable material production.

Research Interests

Valentina specializes in marine microbial ecology, plant-microbe interactions, and microbiome research. Her work leverages molecular biology, genomics, and bioinformatics to explore microalgal species/consortia for bioproduction and environmental sustainability.

Current fields of research include Bioprocessing (100302), Biodiscovery (100201), and Synthetic Biology (060113), while previous work focused on Microbial Ecology (060504), Host-Parasite Interactions (060307), and Carbon Sequestration Science (050301).

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Microbial Ecology (2020), University of Technology Sydney
• Master of Science (MS) in Molecular Biology (2012), Universidad de los Andes
• Bachelor's degree in Microbiology (2011), Universidad de Los Andes

Professional Experience

• 2022-Present: Environmental Officer, NSW Department of Planning and Environment
• 2021-2022: Research Fellow, Deakin University
• 2019-2020: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Technology Sydney
• 2016-2022: Academic, University of Technology Sydney
• 2015-2020: PhD Candidate, University of Technology Sydney

Scientific Awards

• Impossible Without You (IWY) CERC Fellow

Professional Areas

Environmental biotechnology, Microbial ecology, Molecular biology, Microbiology, Algae, Seagrass, Microbiome research, Genomics, Bioinformatics.

Additional Highlights

She is a Certified Carpentries Instructor (2022-Present) and a reviewer for various scientific journals (2019-Present).