Claudia Piccini is a microbiologist whose research focus is the microbial ecology of aquatic ecosystems. She holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (PEDECIBA, Uruguay) and works as an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE, Montevideo, Uruguay), where also serves as the Academic Director of the newly established environmental science research center (CICA-IIBCE), an interdisciplinary hub designed to coordinate research on environment-related topics such as water and food pollution, ecosystem–human health links, biodiversity conservation and monitoring. She leads efforts to engage scientists, students, and stakeholders in transdisciplinary research and training.
Dr. Piccini has contributed to studies of harmful algal blooms, with emphasis in community assembly of toxin-producing cyanobacteria in reservoirs, rivers and estuaries, also developing methods to analyze microbial diversity in natural settings. She has also examined microbial dynamics in extreme environments, such as glacial retreat ecosystems in Antarctica, exploring shifts in prokaryotic diversity and implications for global biogeochemical cycles. Her research output includes several scientific contributions, with numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Active in graduate-level education and capacity building, Dr. Piccini has organized and taught multiple courses on topics including microbial ecology, metagenomics, confocal microscopy, diagnostic molecular methods, and bioinformatics workshops. She has played a leading role in regional microbiology training schools and international seminars.
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