Mariangela Hungria received her M. Sc. in agronomy at the University of São Paulo-USP, Brazil, her Ph.D. at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro-UFRRJ, Brazil, and post-doc projects at Cornell University, University of California-Davis, and the Universidad de Sevilla in Soil Science and Soil Microbiology. She has been a researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) since 1982 and at the Embrapa Soybean Center in Londrina, Paraná State, since 1991. A professor at the State University of Londrina since 1992, Mariangela currently teaches Microbiology and Biotechnology courses.
She is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the Brazilian Academy of Agricultural Science, and the World Academy of Sciences, as well as a leader of the Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology of Microorganisms in Agriculture. Her work received more than 30 national and international awards.
Her research specializes in soil biotechnology, with an emphasis on microbial nitrogen fixation and other mechanisms for promoting plant growth. The aim is to adapt both basic and applied microbiology to agricultural practices. She has published more than 500 scientific papers, books, book chapters, and technical communications and has released more than 30 technologies for agriculture, including bacterial strains, inoculants, and processes.
