Ana Baričević

Ana Baričević is an Assistant Professor at the Ruđer Bošković Institute's Center for Marine Research, affiliated with the Laboratory for Evolutionary Ecology (LEE) in Rovinj, Croatia. Her research focuses on marine plankton ecology, diatom diversity, and environmental genomics using advanced techniques like metabarcoding. She holds a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Zagreb (2015), where her thesis explored p53 family genes in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

Key research areas include phytoplankton biodiversity, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and the impacts of environmental pressures on marine ecosystems. Notable work includes developing a regional diatom transcriptome database and analyzing long-term phytoplankton dynamics in the Adriatic Sea. She collaborates internationally on projects like ProtectAS, addressing climate change and marine biodiversity conservation.

Her publications span 20+ peer-reviewed articles, emphasizing metabarcoding applications, nutrient limitation effects on diatoms, and the ecological roles of species like Ostreopsis ovata. She advocates for standardized protocols in DNA metabarcoding to improve biomonitoring reliability.