Between 2000 and 2003, Ionescu earned a BSc degree in Marine Sciences and Marine Environmental Sciences from the School of Marine Sciences at the Ruppin Academic Center in Israel.[1]
His academic journey continued with a master's degree between 2003 and 2005, conducted under the guidance of Prof. Aharon Oren at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in collaboration with Prof. Karlheinz Altendorf and Dr. Andre Lipski at the University of Osnabrueck in Germany. His Master's thesis, titled "Characterization of an endoevaporitic microbial community in the Eilat salterns by fatty acid analysis and stable isotope labeling",[4] reflected his research focus during this period.
In 2005, Ionescu embarked on a Ph.D. degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as part of the peace project "Bridging the Rift",[5][6][7][8] in collaboration with Prof. Muna Hindiyeh[9] and Prof. Mohhamad Wedyan.[10] His doctoral thesis was titled "Cyanobacterial Biogeography and Nitrogen Fixation: Lessons from environmental and model organisms".[11]
Four photographs of a series of underwater fresh water springs found in the Dead Sea, approximately 1.8 km west of Mitzpe Shalem, in 2010 by Danny Ionescu
The expedition revealed abundant microbial life forms in and around underwater freshwater springs.[13][14][15][16] The underwater scenery of the Dead Sea as documented by Ionescu and Dr. Christian Lott of the Hydra Institute was featured in several documentary movies.[17]
His work at the Max Planck Institute included studies on the interaction between minerals and microbial cells, conducted Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory in Sweden[18] and on the island of Kiritimati,[19] as part of the collaborative researcher group FOR571.[20]
In 2014, Ionescu joined the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), where his research focused on the genomics and ecology of giant bacteria, specifically the genus Achromatium. Notably, in 2017, Ionescu discovered that the multiple chromosomes harbored by these large bacteria are not identical,[21][22][23] highlighting their adaptability to different environments.[24][25][26]
In 2021, Ionescu has received the independent research grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) to further explore these topics.[27]
Dr. Danny Ionescu has made significant contributions to the field of aquatic microbial ecology. A comprehensive list of his publications can be found on his ORCID[28] and Google Scholar[29] pages.
Additionally, Ionescu actively participates in the scientific community. He serves on the Managing Board of the open access research platform PCI Genomics[30] and contributes as a recommender for PCI Microbiology.[31] Moreover, he holds positions as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology[32] and editorial board member of Scientific Reports.[33]
Born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1976, Ionescu and his family immigrated to Israel in 1984. He is married to Dr. Mina Bizic, also a scientist, and the couple has two children.[34] Ionescu's brother, Ariel Ionescu,[35] is a Neurobiologist, and his brother-in-law, David Bizic, is an opera singer.[36]
^Ionescu, Danny & Bizic, Mina. (2019). Giant Bacteria. 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020371.pub2.
^Danny Ionescu, Jean-Marie Volland, Paul-Emile Contarini, Olivier Gros, Genomic Mysteries of Giant Bacteria: Insights and Implications, Genome Biology and Evolution, Volume 15, Issue 9, September 2023, evad163, https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad163
^Ionescu, D. et al. (2007) Characterization of the endoevaporitic microbial communities in a hypersaline gypsum crust by fatty acid analysis - hydrobiologia, SpringerLink. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10750-006-0289-7 (Accessed: 01 February 2024).
^Brand, D., February 26, 2004 and Credit: Mustafa Abadan and TJ Gottesdiener, S. (2004) Cornell and Stanford to work with Israel and Jordan on bridging the Rift Research Center to include World’s first databank for all living systems, Cornell Chronicle. Available at: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2004/02/worlds-first-databank-all-living-systems (Accessed: 01 February 2024).
^Mohammed Ali Mohammed Wedyan Professor Biochemistry - Marine The Hashemite University Faculty Staff website . Available at: https://staff.hu.edu.jo/CV_e.aspx?id=IU9flqDIF54 (Accessed: 01 February 2024).
^The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2011) IONESCU, DANNY - PhD Thesis. Available at: http://www.research-students.huji.ac.il/en/ionescu-0 (Accessed: 01 February 2024). Cyanobacterial Biogeography and Nitrogen Fixation: Lessons form Environmental and Model Organisms
^Springs of Life in the Dead Sea Scientists discover dense and diverse microbial communities in and around fresh water springs on the Dead Sea floor (2011) 21.09.2011 springs of life in the Dead Sea. Available at: https://www.mpi-bremen.de/en/Springs-of-Life-in-the-Dead-Sea.html (Accessed: 01 February 2024).
^American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. "Dead Sea researchers discover freshwater springs and numerous micro-organisms." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 September 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110927112546.htm>.
^Ionescu, D. et al. (2015) ‘Diversity of iron oxidizing and reducing bacteria in flow reactors in the ÄSPÖ Hard Rock Laboratory’, Geomicrobiology Journal, 32(3–4), pp. 207–220. doi:10.1080/01490451.2014.884196.
^Ionescu, D., Spitzer, S., Reimer, A., Schneider, D., Daniel, R., Reitner, J., de Beer, D. and Arp, G. (2015), Calcium dynamics in microbialite-forming exopolymer-rich mats on the atoll of Kiritimati, Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific. Geobiology, 13: 170-180. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12120
^gepris.dfg.de. (n.d.). DFG - GEPRIS - FOR 571: Geobiology of Organo- and Biofilms: Coupling of the Geosphere and the Biosphere by Microbial Processes. [online] Available at: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/5471545?language=en [Accessed 1 Feb. 2024].
^Bunk, K. (2017) Riesenbakterium enthält erbgut für eine Ganze Bevölkerung, Giant bacterium contain genetic material for an entire population. Available at: https://idw-online.de/de/news680656 (Accessed: 01 February 2024).
^Ionescu, D. et al. (2017) 'Community-like genome in single cells of the sulfur bacterium Achromatium oxaliferum,' Nature Communications, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00342-9.
^Ionescu, D., Zoccarato, L. and Schorn, S. (2022). When it comes to the giant bacterium Achromatium, everything is everywhere. TheScienceBreaker, 08(01). doi:https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk613.
^Ionescu, D., Luca Zoccarato, Artur Zaduryan, Schorn, S., Bižić, M., Pinnow, S., Heribert Cypionka and Hans‐Peter Grossart (2020). Heterozygous, Polyploid, Giant Bacterium,Achromatium, Possesses an Identical Functional Inventory Worldwide across Drastically Different Ecosystems. Molecular Biology and Evolution, [online] 38(3), pp.1040–1059. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa273.
^vimeo.com. #02 - Aquatic ecologist Dr. Mina Bizic (IGB): exploring life in water and dealing with dual careers in science. [online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/470103616 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2024].
^Blackburn, Nicky, and Karin Kloosterman. “Dead Sea Divers Discover New Forms of Life.” ISRAEL21c, 12 Sept. 2012, www.israel21c.org/dead-sea-divers-discover-new-forms-of-life. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.
