Dr. Nikola Stanković is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš. He obtained his BSc degree in Biology in 2009 and completed his specialist studies in microbiology at the University of Belgrade in 2013. He earned his PhD in 2021 with a dissertation focused on the ecotoxicology of freshwater ecosystems. During his doctoral studies, he spent four months at "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University in Iaşi, Romania, through the Erasmus+ mobility program, where he developed a research focus on aquatic microorganisms and environmental toxicology. From 2023 to 2024, he completed a 14-month postdoctoral research stay at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin, Germany. He was appointed as a Teaching Assistant in 2015 and promoted to Assistant Professor in 2022. He is involved in teaching undergraduate and master-level courses in microbiology, phycology, and ecotoxicology. His