Molecular Biology (MSc/PhD)

Nikola Todorov

EDUCATION

College / University

The University of York

Highest Degree

Bachelor of Science (with an year in industry)

Major Subjects

Molecular Cell Biology
Todorov

Country

Bulgaria

Lab Experience

Molecular Biology: dCAPS (derived Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequence) molecular marker design and utilization in plants; Molecular cloning via classical restriction/ligation, Golden Gate and Gibson assembly-like reactions; Single-Cell transcriptomics on 10x Genomics platform.
Microbiology: Serial dilutions, Gram staining. Mammalian Cell culture: Chinese Hamster Ovarian cells. Biochemistry: Enzyme kinetics measurements by spectrophotometry; protein separation by size-exclusion, ion-exchange chromatography and nickel-histidine pull-down.
Other: Fluorescent microscopy of GFP-tagged proteins in yeast; Surface Plasmon Resonance (of soluble T-cell receptors). Dry Lab: AutoDock Vina for docking of small molecules to enzyme active sites

Projects / Research

  • 2019 – 2020: “Towards functional studies of the barley time for coffee ortholog: Annotation of nucleotide sequence, genotyping and in silico characterisation of missense mutations”, Final Year BSc Project at the Department of Biology of The University of York
  • 2018 – 2019: “A streamlined method for expression cloning of paired αβ T-cell receptors from single cells via isothermal DNA assembly”, Year in Industry Project, Immunocore Ltd., Oxfordshire
  • 2017: “Investigating Natural Ligands and their binding affinities to a Subset of Key Receptors in Upper Respiratory Tract Infections”, Dry lab group project at The University of York

Scholarships / Awards

2020 – 2021: Stipend by the International Max Planck Research School.
2018: Best Academic Performance Prize for Stage 2 Biology (University of York)

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND GOALS

I still hold a wide interest in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Nevertheless, I pay special attention to functional genomics (finding out what newly discovered DNA sequences do), and sub-cellular organisation. The latter includes organelle biogenesis, maintenance and molecule sorting plus phase separation in membranelles compartments, and provides the background of well-studied metabolic processes. As someone who has studied extensively about and worked in biotechnology enterprise, I hope to be involved in the development of impactful technologies based in Molecular Biology.