Romanian Scientist Presents Antarctic Extremophile-Based Cryopreservation Project

Metodi Yordanov, Mina Dimitrova

Alice-Georgiana Stoica (BTA Photo/Ilko Valkov)

Constanta, Romania,

01.07.2026 15:01

(BTA)

Alice-Georgiana Stoica of Romania's National Institute for Research and Development in Biological Sciences presented a project on biologically inspired cryopreservation based on the adaptations of Antarctic extremophiles for the stabilisation of biopharmaceutical products at the joint Bulgarian-Romanian Polar Scientific Symposium, held on Wednesday in the Romanian city of Constanta.

Stoica explained that over millions of years, Antarctic extremophiles have developed specialised adaptation mechanisms that enable them to survive under exceptionally harsh environmental conditions, underscoring the importance of conducting research in Antarctica for the project.

"Antarctica has spent millions of years perfecting the chemistry of survival under extreme conditions. Our task as scientists is to harness those millions of years of natural evolution, bring these mechanisms into the laboratory, and transform them into new solutions for modern biomedicine and biopharmaceuticals," she said in conclusion.

The symposium was opened earlier on Wednesday by the President of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, together with Tudor Prisecaru, Vice Chair of the Antarctic Research Commission of the Romanian Academy.

/MY/