Andy Qarri

Research interests:

Research on marine invertebrates:
The fact that marine invertebrates, and ascidians in particular, have over 1000 isolated molecules and a variety of documented uses, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antitumoral properties, makes them a particularly promising source of marine natural products. Marine invertebrate cells cultured in vitro hold immense potential as valuable tools across diverse scientific disciplines and applied fields, including biological/environmental studies, economical applications and medical research.

My lab is founded on solid scientific research that has been carried out in major universities and research institutes overseas, and my primary focus involves the creation and advancement of a translational research platform for cellular aquaculture. This includes establishing a long-term platform for the in vitro and in vivo sustainable culture of marine invertebrate systems. The lab has a clean room (for in vitro research) and a wet lab for long-term growth stocks, in order to support the goal of sustainable growth of marine invertebrate species, mainly tunicates, a systematic group of marine invertebrates.

Research on protists (thraustochytrids):
The culturable diversity and culturing methods of thraustochytrids have not been studied in depth. Since the naturally occurring bioactive substances with antioxidant activity show anti- inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, the academic, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic sectors have all expressed interest in employing them for applied industrial research and translational studies. At the cellular aquaculture lab, we have a research platform for screening of novel thraustochytrid strains containing bioactive molecules from various marine invertebrate key species. In order to learn more about the biology of these protists and to reveal the as-yet-undiscovered biodiversity (including the diverse range of bioactive compounds they contain) within this fascinating group of microorganisms, we also look into the relationship between symbiotic thraustochytrids and their animal hosts.

Applied aspects:
We put a lot of effort into commercializing isolated unique thraustochytrid strains and marine invertebrate cells that grow in well-defined, scalable settings.

Selected publications:

Kültz, D., Gardell, AM., DeTomaso, A., Stoney, G., Rinkevich, B., Qarri, A., Hamar, J. (2025). Proteome-Wide 4-Hydroxy-2-Nonenal Signature of Oxidative Stress in the Marine Invasive Tunicate Botryllus schlosseri. Proteomics 19, 12-25. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmic.70032Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Qarri, A., Rinkevich, Y., Douek, J., Sardogan, A., Rinkevich, B. (2024). Growth performance of a newly isolated and culturable thraustochytrid strain from sea squirt colonies. Fishes 9: 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes9010022

Qarri, A., Kültz, D., Gardell, A.M., Rinkevich, B., Rinkevich, Y. (2023). Improved media formulations for primary cell cultures derived from a colonial urochordate. Cells 12, 1709. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12131709

Qarri, A., Israel, A. (2020). Seasonal biomass production, fermentable saccharification and potential ethanol yields in the marine macroalga Ulva sp. (Chlorophyta). Renewable energy 145, 2101-2107.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.07.155