My PhD thesis from the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Biology, revolved around sturgeons and the investigation of genetic diversity (through sequencing, genotyping and phylogeny analysis) alongside the identification of sex (through histology, immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, western blot and data analysis). Alongside my PhD program I worked as a Laboratory Technician at the Applied Ecology Research Center from the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Sciences where I have implemented methods for the detection and quantification of persistent organic pollutants and pharmaceuticals through gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. During this time I have become proficient in the use of R statistical computing, GraphPad Prism, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator which helped in analyzing, writing and creating wonderful graphs for the research publications I was involved in.