Department of Applied and Natural Sciences

Dr. Marsida Klemo has been a full-time lecturer for 14 years at the Faculty of Professional Studies (FSP) of the “Aleksandër Moisiu” University of Durrës. Marsida graduated in 5-year Physics, completed postgraduate school in biophysics and currently holds the degree of “Doctor of Science”, all titles earned at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana. In 2009-2011 she held the position of Vice-Dean for Teaching and since 2014 she is currently the Head of the Department of Applied and Natural Sciences at the Faculty of Professional Studies. During her academic work experience, Marsida has contributed not only to teaching and management of the Department but also to scientific research. She has published over 15 articles in international journals (including those with impact factor), texts for students and has spoken at about 20 International Conferences. For several years, she has been engaged as an expert in projects funded by the European Community as a scientific expert/researcher with a focus on the environment and renewable resources.

Prof. As. Dr. Majlinda Sana completed her studies at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, “Industrial Chemist” branch during the years 1989-1994 in Tirana. In 2011, she completed her second level Master studies in “Electrochemistry of corrosion and surface phenomena” at the Faculty of Natural Sciences. In June 2013, she received the scientific degree “Doctor” with the topic: “Comparative evaluation on the use of redox agents in flours produced from several domestic and imported wheat cultivars for the production of doughs for bread and cakes”. During the years 2000-2008 she worked in the pharmaceutical industry “Prodentalfarma e Profarma” as a chemist of raw materials and finished products, as well as a production manager of sterile products. From 2008 to 2011 she worked as an assistant at the “Albanian University”, while during the period 2011-2014 she was an external lecturer at the “Kristal” University. Since 2013 she has been an internal lecturer at the “Aleksandër Moisiu” University of Durrës. In May 2021 she received the title of “Associate Professor” from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana. She is the author of many articles published in scientific journals at home and abroad, and has participated in a number of presentations at national and international conferences. She is also the author of three monographs published by LAP, Lambert Academic Publishing, and is part of the editorial boards of several foreign journals.

Dr. Milidin Bakalli has been a lecturer at the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, at the “Aleksandër Moisiu” University of Durrës since September 2017. From October 2014 to September 2017, he was a lecturer at the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Professional Studies at the same university. He graduated in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana and completed his Master’s studies in the field of Microbiology-Biotechnology at the same faculty. In 2013, he earned the scientific title “Doctor” in Plant Biotechnology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana. During the years 2003-2014 he held various positions at the Central Laboratory of the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defense, including duties as Head of the Section of Chemical Protective Means, Head of the Section of Chemical Analysis of Explosives and Gunpowder, Head of the Section of Fuel and Lubricant Analysis and Head of the Laboratory of Tenancy and Bacteriology. He has attended various international and national courses in the field of testing and management of testing and calibration laboratories on quality and accreditation, as well as in protection from weapons of mass destruction. He has also presented a number of scientific papers at national and international conferences and congresses, and has published scientific articles in national and international journals with impact factors. He is a co-author of the textbook “Medical Biochemistry”. His research interests include the application of laboratory analysis and testing in Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Protection, and teaching.

Dr. Laura Gjyli earned her PhD from the University of Tirana in the field of biotechnology, contributing to the identification of the presence of cyanobacterial species for the first time in Albanian marine waters, based on PCR amplification of 16-23S ribosomal DNA sequences. She is part of the founding staff of the “Aleksandër Moisiu” University of Durrës, the newest public university in Albania, where she teaches biology and microbiology courses. Since 2007, Dr. Gjyli has been engaged in research on water quality assessment and is the author of more than 20 research articles published in international journals. Among her recent articles are: “Marine Plastics on the Albanian Coastline: Basic Information for Improved Management”, published in the journal Elsevier: Ocean and Coast Management, and “Assessment of marine debris on several beaches along the Southern Adriatic coastline (Albania)”, published in Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, Springer, BerlinDr. Gjyli contributes to the education of Albanian youth through scientific research and community outreach and is the coordinator and founder of the student conference “Environment and Human Health”. She created Biolovealbaniangroup in 2018 with high school volunteers, students, teachers and professors from Durrës, making it part of the project Interreg Med ACT4LITTER Marine Litter Watch Month, an initiative to clean up and study microplastics on the Albanian coast. In 2019, Biolovealbaniangroup won the silver prize at the awards ceremony of the "Olympiad on Better Disaster Awareness", an international competition organized by the project BeSafeNet, implemented by the Cyprus Civil Protection and sponsored by the European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Arrangement (EUR-OPA), Council of Europe, Strasbourg. Dr. Gjyli received a 78% grade for her project “Effects of Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids on Nucleolar Stress and P53 Stabilization in Cancer Cells: A Challenge for a New Cancer Therapy (DAFFODILS)” in a European postdoctoral program, co-funded by Université libre de Bruxelles and the European Commission within the framework of actions Marie Skłodowska-Curie (H2020). As of June 2020, she is a member of the organization River-Cleanup.org in Brussels, coordinating river cleaning activities and developing partnerships in Albania, with the first project "Cleaning the Ishëm River, 2020". In 2021, the project won COST OC-2020-1-24821, “Applications for zoosporic parasites in aquatic systems”, and applied together with BOKU (Universiteti i Burimeve Natyrore dhe Shkencave të Jetës) for the project "Measurements of macroplastic transport in the Ishëm River, the most polluted river in Europe (2021-2023)", which is awaiting approval.