Since 2022, Jéssica Pereira Leite has held a biology degree from the University of Porto. Currently, she is pursuing her master’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Porto, and is working on her dissertation as part of the NIAF project on the Endocrine Disruptors and Emerging Contaminants Research Group.

Jesús Fernández Gutiérrez holds a degree in Biology by the University of Vigo (2020) and a MSc in Marine Biology by the University of Santiago de Compostela (2022). He has experience in the study of several groups of benthic invertebrates, with special interest in alien species. Nowadays, he is a Biology PhD student in the Faculdade de Ciências at the University of Porto. His research focuses on sessile invertebrates communities in recreational marinas and ports trying to improve the ecological state of these ecosystems by using animal-based solutions.

Joana Azevedo has a BSc (Honors) in Applied Chemistry from UWE, Bristol, in 1999. Went to receive her Chemistry Degree (2004), MSc (2007) and PhD (2019) in Environmental Sciences and Technology, from Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto.
Joana`s work focuses on Validation and Accreditation of analytical methods by LCMS and GCMS. Besides targeted analyses of cyanotoxins, hormones, pesticides and drugs, Joana´s has experience with protocols involved in the search of potentially new bioactive molecules.
As a High Technician, Joana is also CIIMAR´s residues delegate manager being involved in general laboratories chemical safety.

Joana Campos, PharmD, has 10 years of experience in AMR, and genomic epidemiology research. She specialized in MDR bacteria during her PhD (FFUP-2018) and later expanded into microbiome, bioinformatics and immunology at i3S. She was project manager and researcher in biotechnology sector (food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical areas) (PME Company-2022), and in EU-funded WASTELESS project (UTAD-2024). She was selected for scientific and technical support panels and working groups at EFSA. Currently, she is a professor and researcher in microbiology and food technology at ICBAS-UP.

Joana Campos graduated in Aquatic Sciences at the University of Porto in 1997 and concluded her PhD in Biology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2009. She joined CIIMAR in 2003 in the research line of Global Changes and Ecosystems Services. Her research interests focus on latitudinal trends in the biology of estuarine epibenthos, specially crustaceans, relating those trends to environmental constraints. She has also embraced several science dissemination projects to promote Ocean literacy.

Joana Cardoso has a BSc in Chemistry from the Faculty of Science, University of Porto, and an MSc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto. She is currently a PhD student in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, with a thesis related to a multidisciplinary project to overcome antifungal resistance. It involves the design and synthesis of novel siderophore-antifungal conjugates with new central scaffolds to provide an effective and durable response to multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Joana Faria da Costa completed her degree in Aquatic Sciences in 2006 and her PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2012 at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Microbiome Ecology and Biogeochemistry at CIIMAR. Her expertise includes molecular biology, next-generation sequencing, and environmental toxicology. Her primary research interests center on microbial communities involved in mercury and nitrogen cycling, as well as pollutant detoxification in polar environments.

Joana Fernandes holds a PhD in Remote Sensing by UCL, University of London, UK. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Porto, Faculty of Sciences (FCUP), where she has been teaching courses on fields such as Remote Sensing, Geodesy and Hydrographic Surveying. Director of the PhD in Surveying Engineering of FCUP from 2012-2017. Her research is mainly in the field of Satellite Altimetry with focus on coastal altimetry and altimetry over inland waters, range and geophysical corrections, in particular the wet tropospheric correction. Leader of the Portuguese team in several research projects, mostly funded by ESA, such as, COASTALT, CP4O, Sea Level CCI, SCOOP and SHAPE.

My name is Joana Gomes and I have a degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto since September 2019. After completing my degree, I entered the Masters in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto. Right now, I’m in the 2nd year of my master’s, developing my dissertation, which aims to synthesize hybrids of cinnamic acid derivatives and chrysin derivatives as potential UV filters and antioxidants.

Joana Falcão graduated in Biology from the University of Coimbra in 2008 and completed an MSc degree in Ecology in March 2010.Her interest in ecology, close contact with estuaries, marine ecosystems, and coastal waters, always present throughout the graduation, allowed her to work as a grant researcher in several research projects, from benthic sharks to zooplankton, passing by estuaries and the open sea. In 2016 she joined the Coastal Systems and Ocean research group at MARE-IPLeiria. She currently holds an FCT doctoral grant and develops her work at MARE-IPLEIRIA, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre-Polytechnic of Leiria, CIIMAR-Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, and IPMA-Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere. Her PhD project aims to address long term changes in jellyfish populations through the monetarization of populations of gelatinous organisms on the Portuguese coast and assist in predicting future abundance fluctuations of these organisms in a thermally changing ocean, trying to determine the mechanisms by which climate change interacts with them and their prey (zooplankton and fish larvae) while quantifying the effects of the blooms of these organisms on the ecosystem, their driving forces and potential consequences for the tourism, industry and fisheries sectors.

Joana Matos has a PhD in Biochemistry and a MSc/BSc in Food Engineering. She is Postdoctoral researcher at IPMA (Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere, I.P.). Her main area of scientific research focuses on food science and nutrition, namely in upgrading undervalued marine resources through the bioprospection of bioactive compounds and nutrients, study of biological activities, bioaccessibility and development of novel functional food products. She has published over 22 peer-reviewed articles and collaborated in national and international R&D projects.

Joana Oliveira studied Applied Biology at University of Minho and later, following her love for the sea and the aquatic animals, she obtained her master’s degree in Marine Sciences – Marine Resources at ICBAS, University of Porto. Currently she is a Biology PhD student at FCUP and her studies focus on finding new health and welfare biomarkers in meagre (Argyrosomus regius) and in the development of new functional diets for this fish model that will allow for the improvement of its production.

Joana P. Fernandes holds a degree (2012) and master’s degree (2014) in Environmental Sciences and Technology (FCUP-UP) and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS – UP, 2021). In recent years, her research has been focused on biodegradation of emerging pollutants by autochthonous microorganisms. She has been studying different biodegradation approaches to remove emerging pollutants from contaminated environments and how these remediation strategies can change the natural community dynamics and structure. Also, she is involved in the development of a new culture collection, working in the isolation, cultivation, and identification of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) with different biotechnological purposes.

Joana Raimundo is an Assistant Researcher at IPMA, and associated with CIIMAR. She holds a degree in Marine Biology, with a PhD in Biochemistry. Her work focuses on the accumulation, elimination and effects on marine organisms, through biochemical and cellular modifications, exposed to contaminants (classic and emergent) and microplastics, in coastal areas and in the deep sea. She participated in 33 national and international projects, and led 4 of them and several tasks. She authored/co-authored 80 articles, 4 book chapters, and is a member of WGBEC (ICES), ICGML and MIME (OSPAR), MSFD Expert Network on Marine Contaminants and TGML (JRC).

• Marine Biofouling Communities Ecology: Investigating the composition and dynamics of biofouling communities that form on marine submerged surfaces.
• Bioprospection of Antifouling Compounds and Matrices: Exploring natural sources for alternative antifouling compounds and biopolymers to develop new, bioinspired antifouling technologies.
• Microbial Communities at Human-Ocean Interfaces: Studying the diversity of microbial communities in environments where human activities meet the ocean, assessing their impact on the health and well-being of coastal populations and marine users.

I, Joana, have a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Trás-Os-Montes e Alto Douro since March 2019. In September of the same year, I entered in master’s in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto. Currently, I am developing a master’s dissertation, from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, in natural products, in particular isolation, purification, and structure elucidation of the secondary metabolites of marine fungi, including for bioactivity.

Joana I. Sousa has a degree in Biology and Geology by University of Aveiro (2021). She’s currently a master’s student in Biology and Water Quality Management at Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto (FCUP) and is doing an internship at NUTRIMU group with the objective of studying Novel grape functional extracts to prevent antibiotic use in European seabass aquaculture.

Joana Teixeira graduated in the Master’s in Chemical Engineering with a specialization on Biotechnology in 2017 from University of Porto. She pursued her studies in the University of Porto obtaining the master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, in 2019. Currently, she is a PhD Student of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto. Her PhD project focus on the synthesis of marine-inspired xanthones and marine-derived polysaccharides being evaluated their potential as chiral stationary phases.    

I am an Assistant Researcher and leader of the Deep-Sea Biodiversity and Conservation Research Team (DEEP) at CIIMAR – University of Porto (Portugal), and an invited Associate Professor in Deep-Sea Biology at the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of Bergen (Norway). I hold a PhD in Biology (2009, University of Amsterdam) and a degree in Marine Biology (2003, University of the Azores). My research focuses on the understanding of basin-scale diversity, biogeographic, and connectivity patterns of deep-sea vulnerable marine species and habitats (e.g. sponge grounds, cold-water coral gardens), using a combination of disciplines (taxonomy, systematics, ecology and genetics), and exploration and sampling tools (remotely operated vehicles, towed cameras). I also strive to advance the science-policy-society interface, working with local communities to integrate their knowledge and perceptions on marine biodiversity into decision-making; as well as developing tools and transferring knowledge to support the implementation of agreements and instruments for sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of deep-sea habitats. Over the years, I have trained and mentored over 30 students from BSc to PhD levels in the fields of sponge taxonomy, systematics, phylogenetics, and population genomics. I co-coordinated the H2020 SponGES project, and currently coordinate the DEEPbaseline project, an awardee of the Ocean Conservation Fund, and the SponBIODIV project funded in scope of the European Biodiversity partnership (Biodiversa+). I collaborate with a vast network of scientists from around the globe, as well as with local fishing communities.

João Amorim has a degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of Porto University (2012) and a master’s degree in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology from the Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute of Porto University (2014). Since 2010, his work has been primarily focused on developing new biological early warning systems (BEWS) has tools for fast and reliable detection of aquatic contamination. He is currently working with METOX group in the scope of his PhD, employing behavioral analysis and Raman spectroscopy to search for biomarkers of exposure in the model organism Lymnaea stagnalis.

João Almeida graduated in Biology at the University of Porto (Portugal, 2021). Now he is a student of masters degree in Aquatic biological resources at the University of Porto (Portugal), developing his thesis at CIIMAR, using as well, the facilities of Aquamuseu do Rio Minho, Vila Nova de Cerveira (Portugal) as support for the laboratory techniques and sampling in situ. Partnership with Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS, Portugal) for support in laboratory techniques.

João Ricardo de Sá Chambel is a PhD researcher and Civil Engineer at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), graduating from the same institution. He developed a master’s thesis project on the topic of Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations. After finishing, he continued as a research fellow at the IHRH – Hydraulics and Water Resources Institute and FEUP, where he had the opportunity to work on several projects such as: Deviation Infrastructure for Rio de Vila (Metro do Porto), Detached Breakwaters and Artificial Reefs for the Carneiro Beach (Porto), Coastal Erosion at the Esposende Sandspit (Esposende), the ORACLE project – Offshore Risk Analysis for Climate Change and Lifetime Extension of offshore foundations, and the POSEIDON project – Damage Prediction and Design of Scour Protections in Complex Foundations for Marine Renewable Energy. He developed skills in physical & numerical modelling, offshore foundations, risk & reliability analysis, scour phenomena, and climate changes. He also worked as a Civil Engineer at the company Noraqua (Porto), while still maintaining research cooperation with his previous team. In 2021, he obtained a PhD grant for the topic of Optimization of Scour Protections for Hybrid Offshore Foundations with Complex Geometry at FEUP and Oregon State University (EUA). During his short career, he was privileged to work and learn from recognized engineers in his field, namely with Francisco Taveira Pinto (FEUP), Pedro Lomonaco (Oregon State University), Tiago Ferradosa (FEUP), Paulo Santos (FEUP), and Mario Welzel (TU Braunschweig). His interests are extended to Offshore Structures & Foundations, Marine Renewable Energy, Scour (Protections), and Coastal Erosion.

Emeritus Professor of the University of Porto. BSc in Biology (University of Coimbra) and PhD (Physiology of Aquatic Animals) at the University of Nice (France). Full Professor at ICBAS (Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar), Founding Director of CIIMAR and CIMAR – Associate Laboratory. Former Vice-President of OCEANO XXI. National Delegate of European Framework Programmes (1994-2013). Scientific Interests focus on the biological basis of aquaculture, and ecophysiology of aquatic animals including the effects of pressure. Author or co-author of approximately 80 articles in international publications. Supervisor and co-supervisor of PhD students and post-docs. Management of many national and international research projects.