Francisco V. C. Taveira Pinto is a PhD researcher at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (Portugal), graduated from the same institution. After finishing his Integrated Master’s Degree, Francisco has integrated the Engineering and Research Area at the Hydraulics and Water Resources Institute (IHRH), developing his engineering, physical and numerical modelling skills. His scientific research focuses on coastal protection structures, coastal erosion, scour phenomena near segmented detached structures, climate change and composite modelling. With respect to his professional activities, Francisco has been working under several projects namely: “Risk Characterization Study and Intervention Programme for the Protection of the Ofir’s Sandspit and Cávado’s river mouth”, “ATLANTIDA – Platform for the monitoring of the North Atlantic Ocean and tools for the sustainable exploitation of the marine resources” and more recently “Port Loyola Cruise Terminal, Model-based research”.

M.A. in Biology with a specialization in Ecology and a great passion for nature and its conservation since childhood. With experience in the area of conservation, ecological restoration and environmental education

I hold a bachelor’s degree in Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and a master’s in Biological Aquatic Resources at the same institution. My main areas of interest are Aquaculture, fish nutrition and alternative feedstuffs.

Gabriela Gonçalves has a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Porto and completed her master’s degree in Food Science and Technology, in 2020. In 2021 she started her PhD focusing on the development of oral vaccines for aquaculture using Bacillus spores as delivery vehicles. Her work contributed to 2 published papers in international scientific journals (Q1) and 5 oral communications and 1 poster at national and international conferences, which granted her 4 distinctions. Gabriela was part of the team “ProbioVaccine” which won the 928 Startup Challenge in 2021, an international business competition.

Gabriela Alves Moreira holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicinal Biotechnology from the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (2018) and a Master’s degree in Molecular Genetics from the University of Minho (2021). After completing an undergraduate internship at BBE, she carried out her Master’s thesis under a BYT Plus program scholarship, focusing on the discovery of new bioactive compounds from cyanobacteria at CNP, where she later held a research grant under the HALVERSITY project. She then worked as a technician at LEGE-CC, where she was responsible for maintaining the collection and performing molecular identification of new strains. She is currently a PhD student in Toxicology and Environmental Contamination and a guest assistant lecturer at the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto.

Oceanographer, Master in Biological Oceanography (IO-USP, Brazil) and PhD in Marine Science, Technology and Management (Sustainable use of Marine Resources) by the University of Aveiro. She has worked in institutions such as IEAPM and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, in Brazil, as well as European projects at IPMA and UAlg, in Portugal. She has experience in regulatory matters (aquaculture, fisheries), nutrition and management in aquaculture (RAS, semi-intensive, IMTA), laboratory protocols, coastal ecology (population dynamics) and ecological modelling.

Gary Kett is a marine ecologist from Ireland, he received his PhD from University College Cork after studying the impacts of marine climate change on intertidal shellfish aquaculture, specifically, he examined how changes in UV radiation affected the health of Pacific oysters and the development of bacterial and viral pathogens of concern. His previous research experience also includes marine mammal ecology and conservation and monitoring offshore industries for impact mitigation. Gary has held the role of Ireland’s All-Atlantic Ocean Youth Ambassador engaging in High-Level dialogue, ocean science diplomacy, science communication, and network building. He joined the LBC group to work on Marine Litter, implementing solutions to reduce plastic pollution and enhance stakeholder engagement.

Mike Weber graduated in Marine Biology in 1980 and obtained his PhD in 1985 at the University of Kiel in Germany. In 1983, he became an assistant professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto and, in 1998, director of the Littoral Station of Aguda in Vila Nova de Gaia, which is his project. The station houses a fishery museum, an aquarium, and an education and research department. He is the author of 24 books.

I took my bachelor’s degree at the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, in Genetics and Biotechnology. I have a great interest in the area of microbiology, biotechnology, genetics and biochemistry. I am dedicated and organized, responsible and optimistic. Always ready to accept new challenges, in order to expand knowledge and improve skills.

Dr. Gianmaria Giannini is a researcher at CIIMAR and the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto (FEUP), specialized in marine engineering, science, and technology. He holds a PhD in offshore engineering, focusing on wave energy converters, and an MSc in Offshore renewable energy (ORE) from the University of Strathclyde (UK). Currently, he leads a 6-year project titled ‘Multidisciplinary Analysis and Design of Wave Energy Converters,’ funded by FCT and supported by FEUP. With 30+ scientific papers, he contributed to 6 marine energy projects and spent 2 years in private ORE companies. His interests include science, electronics, programming, climate, and sustainability.

Bachelor’s degree in Biology at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), and currently pursuing a master’s degree in “Toxicology and Environmental Contaminations” at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS). Presently developing my master’s thesis project titled “Toxicological assessment of Nitrosamines with emerging interest throughout the urban water cycle” at the EDEC laboratory in CIIMAR.

Gonçalo Themudo is a biologist, specialized on data analysis of genetic and epidemiological data. He completed his MSc at the University of Porto (2005), and PhD at the University of Leiden (2010) studying spatial and temporal patterns of genetic diversity of marbled and crested newts.
His first post-doc at the University of Copenhagen and University of Southern Denmark (2009-2012) focused on the spatial spread of infectious diseases in Denmark. In 2012-2013, he studied genetic variability of honeybees in Europe and genomics of non-model organisms using ancient DNA at CIIMAR – University of Porto, in collaboration with the Center for GeoGenetics.
From 2014 to 2017, he worked on uses of second generation DNA sequencing in forensic contexts and on the genetics of mental diseases, at the University of Copenhagen. From 2017 to 2019, he focused on epigenomics and metabolomics of mental disorders at the Mental Health Center Sankt Hans, Capital Region of Denmark. In 2019, he returned to CIIMAR to work on evolutionary biology of vertebrates, in particular aquatic animals. In 2022, he joined Ce3C to study the genomic epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis. In 2023, he once again returned to CIIMAR, joining the Animal Health and Aquaculture team, under the project IGNITION.

Graciliana Lopes obtained the European Doctoral Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Specialty of Phytochemistry and Pharmacognosy in 2014 (Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Portugal/Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany). During her career, she has specialized in the areas of Natural Sciences and Phytochemistry, with focus in Marine Biotechnology. Her work has been devoted to the chemical characterization of marine bioactive extracts, through different chromatographic techniques, and to the evaluation of their biological activities in different cell and cell-free systems, with a special emphasis in the fields of inflammation and oxidative stress.
She has participated in several national and international research projects, devoted to the valorization of marine resources in the biotechnological and pharmaceutical fields, including the joint collaboration project ALCHEMY (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-027578), between the Biotechnology School of the Portuguese Catholic University (ESB-UCP) and the North American Amyris, devoted to the economic valorization of Amyris industrial fermentation coproducts/residues for the development of innovative products for cosmetic applications. She had the opportunity to join international consortiums and work with researchers and companies from Spain, France, England and Ireland, and to supervise PhD and Master Students.
Presently, she is an Assistant Researcher at CIIMAR (CEECIND), and her field of research focus the exploitation of marine bioactive compounds in molecular targets and mediators underlying the inflammatory process, and also their application in cosmetic industry.

Gregorio Molés is a postdoctoral researcher at CIIMAR. He graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of Murcia, Spain and received his PhD in 2011 in Science and Technology of Animal Production from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. He has performed several postdoctoral stays at the Spanish National Research Council (IATS-CSIC and INIA-CSIC) and at the Uppsala University in Sweden. Currently, his research aims at developing new tools and cost-effective technologies based on recombinant antibodies, to enable rapid, real-time and on farm monitoring of fish health and fish performance.

Graduated in Biological Sciences (Bachelor’s degree) at the Federal University of Santa Maria (2002-2007). Master’s degree in Botany at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (2007-2009). PhD by the Postgraduate Program in Plant Biodiversity and Environment at the Institute of Botany of São Paulo. Post-doctorate at CIIMAR (2019-2020). Currently works as a researcher in taxonomy of cyanobacteria and microalgae.

Auxiliary Researcher funded by FCT at CIIMAR/FCUP. Majored in Pharmaceutical Sciences (1998) at Central University of Las Villas, Cuba-Spain. MSc. in Biochemistry from Medicine School “Dr. de Zarate Ruiz”, Cuba (2009). PhD in Biology from University of Porto (2013), Portugal. Postdoc at CIIMAR (2014-2017). I have specialized in non-conventional bioinformatic methods applied to functional genomics, molecular evolution, and drug discovery. Recently, my focus has been on leveraging machine learning, complex networks, and evolutionary algorithms to search and design peptide drugs from antimicrobial peptides.

Dr. Güliz Akyüz is a Researcher at CIIMAR, working at IPMA, I.P. in Lisbon. She holds a degree in Food Engineering and a PhD in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, specializing in targeted drug delivery, edible coatings, and sustainable food systems. Her research combines food engineering and nanotechnology to develop bio-based antimicrobial films, extend shelf life, and enhance food safety. With international experience, she has contributed to projects on protein extraction, green synthesis, and drug release.

I am Guna Bavithra from India. I completed my integrated master’s degree in Biotechnology from Vellore Institute of Technology, India. I did my master thesis on Bioremediation of Cyanotoxins at CIIMAR in 2018. Now, I am enrolled as a PhD student in Environmental Sciences and Technology at the University of Porto and a La Caixa INPhINIT fellow. My research interests are both the study of constructed wetlands and the various kinds of toxic cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in eutrophic waters. My PhD research is under the umbrella of the TOXICROP project; working on innovative eco-technologies for remediation of wastewater.