Researcher
arina.maltseva{at}ebc.uu.se
My research interests span a broad range of topics in ecology and evolutionary biology, with a particular focus on interactions within symbiotic systems, the roles of symbionts in host adaptation and evolution, and mechanisms of ecology-driven speciation. My PhD project, completed in 2008 at St. Petersburg State University and conducted in the Protein Chemistry Lab at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, explored the evolution of antimicrobial peptides in marine invertebrates (examining their diversity, structure-function relationships, expression patterns, etc.). Since then, I have been involved in diverse research projects, ranging from the mechanisms of transplacental transfer of bacterial symbionts in bryozoans to the role of reproductive proteins in speciation among sympatric species of intertidal snail (and contribution of bacterial symbionts to this).
I have participated in several international collaborations and field expeditions, working at marine research stations in Tjärnö and Kristineberg (Sweden) and with Akvaplan-Niva in Tromsø, Norway. Before joining the Burki’s lab, I held a position at the University of Helsinki, where I investigated metabolites and proteins delivered from gut bacterial commensals to their mammalian hosts.
My current aim is to disentangle the evolutionary history of proteins associated with primary plastids in algal cells: where they came from and how they ended up in an organelle of symbiotic origin.
I enjoy spending my free time with my corgis in nature and doing birdwatching (some of my photos can be found in my Instagram @multicornis).
News 