dr. Janja Zajc

From 1/11/2019 – Reasearch associate

Kmetijski inštitut Slovenije, Oddelek za varstvo rastlin

Hacquetova ul. 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

From 1/11/2019 – Reasearch associate (20% of employment)

National institute of biology,

Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

1/1/2016 – 1/11/2019: Reasearch associate and postdoc project

National institute of biology,

Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

1/4/2014 – 31/12/2015: Teaching assistent

Department for Biology, Chair of Molecular Genetics and Biology of Microorganisms, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana

Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

1/10/2009 – 31/3/2014: Young researcher

Department for Biology, Chair of Molecular Genetics and Biology of Microorganisms, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana

Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Janja Zajc attended 20 international scientific meetings with a lectures (8) or poster (12) presentations. She is authour of four invited lectures of international scientific meetings.

Other courses she attended:

2009: English language exam, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana

2011: Professional training: Entrepreneurship for young researchers at the Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana

2014: Guest at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, Maryland, USA).

2015: BioBash Workshop on Bioinformatics (Genialis d.o.o.)

2015: Seminar »Solutions, facilitate the work of PCR and qPCR« (Kemomed d.o.o.)

2015: Workshop on Ion Torrent technology and metagenomic analysis (Omega d.o.o.)

2015: Workshop »Writing successful Collaborative Projects for H2020 (Yellow Reserch)

2016: Professional training: Project and Team work 8Kmet & Piskernik d.o.o)

2018: »LIFE workshop 2018« (Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning)

2019: »Excel Basic and Advanced classes« (ExcelOlympics)

2019: "How to write a competitive proposal for Horizon 2020" (Hyperion LTD, training course)

• Ecology and mycotoxin production of fungi of the genus Wallemia, contaminants of sweet and salted food (J4-1019)
• Genome and transcriptome sequencing of four varieties of halotolerant black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans (in collaboration with the DOE Joint Genome Institute, USA)
• Genome and transcriptome sequencing of the halophilic fungus Wallemia ichthyophaga (in collaboration with the BGI institute, China)
• Genome sequencing of the extremely halotolerant black yeast Hortaea werneckii (in collaboration with the Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre)
• Prevention of growth of pathogenic fungi in dishwashers (ARRS L4-5533)
• Employing the recent advances in metagenomics to explore the karst groundwater microbiome (J1-6741)
• Stress tolerant yeast from the genus Aureobasidium: application in the biological control against certain plant pathogens (ARRS Z7-7436)
• EFSA project Smart Surveillance

Janja Zajc completed her undergraduate studies in biology, molecular biology and postgraduate studies in biomedicine - microbiology, at the University of Ljubljana. For her doctoral thesis she has studied molecular and physiological adaptations of the halophilic fungus Wallemia ichthyophaga  in collaboration with several research groups (University of Cordoba, Spain, University of Bonn, Germany and Beijing Genome Institute in China). She has participated in numerous national and international projects and has acquired and successfully managed a postdoctoral project on the use of yeast-like fungi of the genus Aureobasidium in plant biological protection. She gained her knowledge and  working experience in mycology and molecular-biological methods during her work at the Department for biology of the Biotechnical Faculty and at the National Institute of Biology.

Detection and identification of fungi based on molecular methods (PCR, qPCR), study of fungi as biotic agents for plant protection, studies of interactions of beneficial fungi with plant pathogens; fungi of extreme environments, genomics of fungi

Janja Zajc participates in pedagogical work as a co-mentor in master's thesis and in the preparation of teaching materials in the subjects Mycology and Industrial Microbiology for students of the University of Ljubljana

• Leading a postdoc project (ARRS Z7-7436) at National institute of biology.
• Leading the research of the development of a medical device for the treatment of chronic wounds fora company Lenis Ltd.
• Member of the local committee of two international scientific meetings (Polar and Alpine Microbiology in 2011 and Emerging Potential of Black Yeasts in 2010).
• Students award for work presentation of the Scientific Committee of Congress at the 2010 Halophiles Congress in Beijing, China.

• SBD- Slovenian Biochemical Society
• SMD - Slovenian Microbiological Society
• EMN – European mycological network
• DVRS – Slovenian Society for Plant protection

• ZAJC, Janja, GOSTINČAR, Cene, ČERNOŠA, Anja, GUNDE-CIMERMAN, Nina. Stress-tolerant yeasts: opportunistic pathogenicity versus biocontrol potential. Genes. 2019, vol. 10, no. 1, str. 1-23. ISSN 2073-4425. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/10/1/42, DOI: 10.3390/genes10010042. [COBISS.SI-ID 4966223].
• GOSTINČAR, Cene, ZAJC, Janja, LENASSI, Metka, PLEMENITAŠ, Ana, HOOG, Sybren de, AL-HATMI, Abdullah M. S., GUNDE-CIMERMAN, Nina. Fungi between extremotolerance and opportunistic pathogenicity on humans. Fungal diversity. Nov. 2018, vol. 93, iss. 1, str. 195-213. ISSN 1560-2745. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs13225-018-0414-8.pdf, DOI: 10.1007/s13225-018-0414-8. [COBISS.SI-ID 34039769].
• GOSTINČAR, Cene, TURK, Martina, ZAJC, Janja, GUNDE-CIMERMAN, Nina. Fifty Aureobasidium pullulans genomes reveal a recombining polyextremotolerant generalist. Environmental microbiology. [Print ed.]. 2019, vol. 21, iss. 10, str. 3638-3652. ISSN 1462-2912. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14693, DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.14693.
• ZAJC, Janja, DŽEROSKI, Sašo, KOCEV, Dragi, OREN, Aharon, SONJAK, Silva, TKAVC, Rok, GUNDE-CIMERMAN, Nina. Chaophilic or chaotolerant fungi : a new category of extremophiles?. Frontiers in microbiology. dec. 2014, vol. 5, str. 708-1-708-15. ISSN 1664-302X. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00708. [COBISS.SI-ID 28276007].
• ZAJC, Janja, LIU, Yongfeng, DAI, Wenkui, YANG, Zhenyu, HU, Jingzhi, GOSTINČAR, Cene, GUNDE-CIMERMAN, Nina. Genome and transcriptome sequencing of the halophilic fungus Wallemia ichthyophaga : haloadaptations present and absent. BMC genomics. 2013, vol. 14, str. [1-20], 617. ISSN 1471-2164. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/14/617/, DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-14-617. [COBISS.SI-ID 2916687].