Andrea Masseroni is a PhD student in Terrestrial and Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy). His research is mainly focused on the evaluation of the sublethal effects induced by nanoplastics on different aquatic organisms. Andrea is currently spending a period of six months at CIIMAR to study the effects of nanofibers of polypropylene in Danio rerio.

Andreia Moreira is a PhD researcher at UPorto (Portugal), graduated from the same institution. She developed her master thesis project in entrepreneurial environment, on the topic of feasibility analysis of the construction of small and medium hydropower plants. From 2012 to 2015 she was dedicated to the Scourcoast project, in which she developed research on sustainable coastal protection techniques. She started conducting her doctoral studies in 2015, supported by a PhD scholarship granted by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. Since then, she has been developing her work on the adaptation and application of a numerical code, based on a weakly compressible formulation of the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method, to simulate spillway flows. During her PhD research, she has been collaborating with the Saint-Venant Hydraulics Laboratory (LHSV), in France. Her research interests are towards the understanding of turbulent high-speed flows, dam safety and the development of numerical tools to spillway risk assessment and mitigation.

Andreia Juliana Rodrigues Caldeira is Professor and Researcher at the State University of Goiás – Brazil, since 1999. She is an external collaborator at CIIMAR / FCUP – Portugal, since 2019. She graduated in Biological Sciences (Brazil – 1996). Master in Molecular Biology (Brazil – 1999) and PhD in Genetics and Breeding (Brazil – 2009). He has a Postdoctoral Degree in Scientific Dissemination (FCUP – Portugal – 2020). It operates in the areas of genetics, public health and the environment, fish parasites, scientific dissemination and education.

Andreia Filipa-Silva is a researcher at Feed and Seafood Quality Team (LANUCE) from CIIMAR, with a PhD in Molecular Biosciences, obtained in 2021 at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Here my focus was to address viral abundance and diversity in four fish species commonly consumed in Europe. This study was essential to characterize fish viral-associated diversity and identify putative viral pathogens that can directly impact fish/human health and the biosafety of aquatic environment. Currently, my focus is on improving farmed species’ biosecurity to offer healthy and safe seafood items to consumers and tailor the flesh quality of farmed species.

Andreia Palmeira is an invited assistant lecturer at Department of Chemical Sciences, Laboratory of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Porto (UP). She obtained her degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the UP in 2007 and PhD in Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry from the same university in 2011. She is a researcher at the Laboratory of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the UP, and a research collaborator at CIIMAR. The area of scientific activity is centered on Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, particularly on computational chemistry and structure and ligand-based computer-assisted drug design. Current research interests include the following: virtual screening and computer-assisted design of modulators of P-glycoprotein and modulators of p53/MDM2 interactions, and in silico analysis of mechanism of action.

André Rodríguez Seijo is a FCT Junior Researcher working with microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems at CIIMAR-UP and the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal. He has a PhD in terrestrial ecosystems from the University of Vigo (Spain). His research was focused on the behaviour of heavy metals in mining, urban and military soils. Since 2017 he is working the impact of microplastics on terrestrial ecosystems as a present research line. He is author/co-author of 20 articles in WoS journals (h index of 12), five book chapters and 33 communications for national and international conferences.

Andreu holds a PhD in Marine Science (2022) from the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona (Spain). His main line of research focuses on the ecology, conservation, and restoration of benthic ecosystems, particularly of sponge habitats. Specifically, his investigation focuses on the usage of ROV and other non-invasive techniques to study the diversity, structure and dynamic processes of deep-sea benthic ecosystems occurring in mesophotic and deep-sea areas and how this information can be effectively incorporated into developing and validating cost-effective active restoration and mitigation techniques for the conservation and management of the marine realm.

Anne Liong, originally from Germany, completed her MSc at RWTH Aachen University in Molecular and Applied Biotechnology, Germany in 2019. Currently she is a FCT PhD student in the Cyanobacterial Natural Products (CNP) team within in the frame of the Biomedical Sciences doctoral program at ICBAS, University of Porto. Her research project includes the deorphanization of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) from cyanobacteria and focuses on the discovery of new fatty acid-harboring natural products and their underlying biosynthesis and enzymology. Anne has multidisciplinary expertise in mass spectrometry analysis, molecular cloning, protein expression and natural products isolation.

 I am studying for a master’s degree in Marine Ecology and Biological Oceanography (OBEM) in Aix-Marseille University in France, and I am currently working as an intern in the Evolutionary genomics and bioinformatics team at the CIIMAR. My work is focus on the characterization of the patterns of genetic structure of Paramuricea clavata at different spatial scales, in order to infer the underlying historical and contemporary processes with a focus on connectivity, genetic drift and local adaptation.

Antonina dos Santos has over 20 years of scientific work in taxonomy and ecology of marine invertebrates. She graduated in Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Algarve and had her PhD in Biology (Ecology and Biosystematics) at the University of Lisbon in 2000.

Her main area of work has been the study of decapod larvae, focusing her studies on taxonomy, larval dispersal and recruitment. Besides that she has also done some important work on the taxonomy of adults having already described four new species of shrimp to science (Bresilia saldanhai, Periclimenaeus aurae, Lysmata jundalini and Macrobrachium pantanalense). Recently she created GelAvista, a citizen science project to study jellyfish. She has been involved in many scientific projects subject to competitive tendering national and European multidisciplinary, 5 of which as coordinator. The results of her scientific activities are reflected in the publication of over 60 scientific articles published in international journals. She have also guided many students from graduates to masters theses, doctoral and post-doc from Portugal, Spain, Italy and Brazil among others. It has been chief scientist on more than 15 multidisciplinary oceanographic campaigns off the Portuguese coast. Also it is editor of the ICES Identification Leaflets for Plankton and academic editor of PeerJ.

António Labela has a Bachelor Degree in Biology in 2021 at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP). Currently he is a masters student in Aquatic Biological Resources at FCUP, working on his dissertation at Nutrimu, which consists in the study of improvements of macroalgae utilization as a valuable ingredient for European seabass aquafeeds

António Afonso is a Professor at various levels of training in the area of Marine Sciences, namely Vertebrate Biology, Ichthyology, Aquaculture and Fish Immunology. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Degree in Sciences of the Aquatic Environment, of the Master in Sciences of the Sea – Marine Resources, and conductor of several disciplines. Prof. António Afonso bases his work on studying the effects that common aquaculture practices have on the fish's innate immune system, through basic and applied research. In addition to the more fundamental aspects mentioned above, Prof. António Afonso has developed innovation projects in aquaculture in partnership with companies dedicated to this branch of activity, where the greatest attention has been related to aquaculture in estuarine and coastal environments.

António Marques is Biologist, with a PhD in Applied Biological Sciences from the University of Gent, Belgium. He is Principal Researcher of IPMA and collaborator of CIIMAR. Experience in quality and safety of fish, and application of new technologies to improve the safety / quality of fish. He has published >150 articles in indexed journals (H‐index 42.0), is guest editor in the indexed journals Toxins, Environmental Research and Food Chemical Toxicology. He has experience in leading European projects (e.g. coordinator of Horizon Europe INNOECOFOOD, H2020 SEAFOODtomorrow, FP7 ECsafeSEAFOOD; WP leader in ACRUNET, SEA‐ON‐A‐CHIP) and national (e.g. MycoFish, FRESHFISH). Responsible for the animal experimentation laboratory (LABVIVOS) at IPMA.

António holds a degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto since 2021. He is a Master´s degree student in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology in Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar that is currently working on his dissertation about the effects of key pollutants in Danio rerio.

Currently completing my master's thesis in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Universidade Fernado Pessoa. Under the supervison of A.T. Correia, I developed an ecophysiological experimental research about the histopathological alterations of Scophthalmus maximus gills after a chronic exposure to Lead and Zinc.

Bachelor Degree in Biology (educational and scientific-technological branch) from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto -U.P., Master in Biomedical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the U.P and INEB-U.P. (1997-99), PhD in Human Biology from the Faculty of Medicine of U.P and IPATIMUP (2002-2008), Doctoral Course in Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of U.P an CIIE/UP (until 2019). Biotechnology Specialist – Order of Biologists since 2008 (after curriculum evaluation ). He has been teaching for 34 years, having initially been a high school teacher (11 years) then assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the U.P. (14 years). Currently he is simultaneously a high school teacher, assistant professor and supervisor in higher education (as guest), researcher (author, reviewer, editor) and trainer (IEFP and CCPFC). He is the author of several publications and has supervised postgraduate work (Master and PhD) in the area of Microbial Biofilms and Science Education (knowledge Cartography and Biological Models).

António Pinto holds a PhD in Civil Engineering, by the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). He’s part of E.RIO’s multidisciplinary team, a company dedicated to river rehabilitation, and its mission is to implement bank stabilisation solutions using natural engineering techniques, from the design phase to its execution in the field. In parallel, he also works in engineering specialities design in buildings and infrastructures, having a history of more than 300 projects developed in different areas.

Aurélia Saraiva is professor in the Biology Department at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and researcher in CIIMAR. She began her scientific activity in the study of fish pathology, especially diseases of bacterial etiology of obligatory declaration. She participated in investigations that led to the notification of the occurrence in Portugal, for the first time, of a notifiable diseases (Furunculosis) and of the Ulcerative Dermal Necrosis (UDN). She described a new species for science (Myxobolus portucalensis Saraiva & Molnar, 1990). At the moment she works mainly in fish parasitology and fish histopathology/ fish health status and welfare. She has published over 60 refereed publications.

Link para CV Ciência Vitae

Bárbara Diogo holds a degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (2018) and a Master’s Degree in Aquatic Biological Resources at the same institution (2021). Since 2018, she has acquired skills and knowledge in water quality assessment, ecotoxicological risk assessment of various substances and mixtures in non-target organisms, and carrying out ecotoxicological tests of environmental monitoring. Published several articles in specialized journals and participated in national and international events, such as lectures, workshops, and meetings of young researchers.
Currently, Bárbara is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology at Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICBAS). Their areas of interest include ecotoxicology, microbiology, ecology, and water quality.

Bárbara Guedes completed her BSc in Biology (2019) and MSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology (2022) at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. She is now a PhD candidate at FCUP, researching the potential of Bacillus spores as oral vaccines for aquaculture. Currently, Bárbara has three articles published in peer-reviewed international journals, two of which as the first author. Her main interests include molecular biology, aquaculture, immunology, and biotechnology.

With a degree in Biology by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP), in 2020, I'm currently studying for a master’s degree in Functional Biology and Biotechnology of Plants, also at FCUP. My project in Ciimar involves the discovery of cyanobacterial natural products using mass spectrometry.

Bárbara Teixeira is a post-doc researcher. She received her degree in Marine Biology and Fisheries in 2004, a post-graduation in Statistics applied to Biology in 2007, and a PhD in Chemistry in 2013. In the last 10 years, her research interests focused mainly on seafood processing and preservation. She is also investigating the use of additives (polyphosphates) in seafood. The work developed so far resulted in about 30 scientific publications in international journals.

I hold a degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. Currently pursuing a master’s degree in Marine Biology at the University of Algarve, I had the opportunity to develop my thesis in partnership with CETUS, part of the LBC team, focusing on the impacts of bycatch on cetaceans in northern Portugal. Subsequently, I had the opportunity to begin an internship that will allow me to continue this study while simultaneously participating in new projects.

Beatriz holds a BSc in Aquatic Sciences (2021) at the University of Porto and is taking a MSc in Marine Biology from the University of Algarve. She is currently doing her Master Thesis at CIIMAR as a member of the Deep-Sea Biodiversity and Conservation team, with the objective of studying the diversity and biogeography of the genus Petrosia (Porifera, Petrosiidae) across the Atlanto-Mediterranean region.

My name is Beatriz de Almeida Leite, I’m 22 years old and I’m from Porto. I graduated in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, where I am currently studying for a Master’s degree in Aquatic Biological Resources. From an early age I developed a strong connection to the natural environment, especially aquatic ecosystems and animal life, which motivated my academic choice and my professional aspirations. I consider myself to be a calm, dedicated and empathetic person. I have good teamwork skills, which I have developed over the years, not only in the academic context, but also in my experience as a volunteer and active member of a youth group. In this group, I work as a catechist and animator for young people between the ages of 10 and 17, which has allowed me to grow on a personal level and overcome challenges, particularly with regard to my shyness and reserve in contexts of public exposure. Through this experience, I have learned to communicate better, to organize activities in a collaborative way and to establish a relationship of trust with young people and their guardians. I have a deep passion for animals, especially cats and dogs. I volunteer at an animal shelter, where I had the opportunity to adopt my two cats, to whom I devote much of my time and a9ection. Providing them with a life of quality and a9ection is a priority for me and a way of repaying the trust they place in us. Animal protection and welfare are values that touch me deeply, given their vulnerability and the ease with which they can be neglected or mistreated. In my free time, I like to balance moments of tranquillity with activities that allow me to relax and maintain my physical and emotional well-being. I enjoy walks in the fresh air, going to the movies, meeting up with childhood friends and small getaways to discover new places. These moments are essential for maintaining a balance between academic life, commitments to the youth group and day-to-day responsibiliti