PhD in Human Biology, master’s in environmental quality Control and degree in Aquatic Sciences. I am and Invited Adjunct Professor at ESS-Escola Suerior da Saúde and ISEP-Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, IPP-Instituto Politécnico do Porto and a Collaborator at Ecosystem Monitoring and Sustainability research team. My present research interests relate to the impact of emerging contaminants on the development of the nervous system of the aquatic vertebrates.

Pedro Reis holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, MSc in Marine Sciences and degree in Environmental Engineering. He’s presently the intermediate chief of the  Laboratory of Chemistry of CIIMAR-UP, where he is responsible for the implementation and optimization of analytical methods for the determination of inorganic elements and organic compounds in environmental samples. He is the author of more than 25 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed international journals with high impact factor.

Pedro Rodrigues is a Phd in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (ICBAS), currently working at CIIMAR, specializing in ecotoxicogenomics, but also with a background in embryotoxicity assays with vertebrate and invertebrate models, and informatics. He has been working in emerging pollutants and their modes of action and mechanisms underlying toxicity towards non-target species. The main goals of his work are to provide useful knowledge and tools for the evaluation of potential impacts of emerging contaminants for non-target species, and consequently improve the existing monitoring programmes and establish safe limits for these compounds in the environment.

Pedro Silva graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto (FEUP) in Bioengineering in 2022. Currently, he is in his first year of a master’s degree in Biological Engineering at the same faculty. At CNP, he is working on cyclic depsipeptides in cyanobacteria. The main objective of his work is to develop methodologies for isolating those compounds that have a significant pharmaceutical and biotechnology potential. He hails from the mid-Atlantic Ocean, specifically São Miguel in the Azores, and is an avid lover of the ocean.

Pedro Sousa is a graduate from ATEC, where he got his degree at Network Management and Systems Administration.

Pedro Sousa has a MSc degree in Science Education and Communication, and a first degree in biology by the University of Porto (FCUP). He is a Ph.D. student in Science Education and Communication (expertise in SciCom) in FCUP. He has a further specialisation in Health Communication, granted by FLUP, and has been previously involved in institutional communication at Ipatimup. He’s developing a podcast series for CIIMAR, which will be the foundation of his thesis.

Specialist in Rehabilitation of Rivers and streams, consultant, designer and researcher of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). PhD in Environmental Engineering at FEUP with the thesis "Environmental assessment, impact mitigation measures and a general methodology for the rehabilitation of rivers and streams in built-up spaces: a participatory approach”.

Founder and Executive Director of “E. Rio Unip Lda”. Coordinates teams for elaboration and monitoring of projects characterization, intervention of cleaning, conservation and valorisation and implementation of public participation process. Consultant of the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) by ARH Norte in the supervision and monitoring of the interventions in the hydraulic, ecological and public participation components.

My investigations feed on the interaction between the sciences of evolution and conservation biology. I am investigating the patterns of diversification within several groups of mammals through different scales, including phylogenetics / phylogeography / population genetics. The ultimate goal of my research is to increase knowledge on the evolutionary dynamics and ecology of heritage taxa and to produce DNA-based tools for the implementation of wildlife management protocols.

Puri Veiga graduated in Marine Sciences in 2000 by the University of Vigo, completed her MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation in 2003 and her PhD degree in 2008 by the University of Santiago de Compostela. She is currently Auxiliary researcher at CIIMAR funded by the “Stimulus to Scientific Employment”. Her research is focused on marine biodiversity, from basic taxonomy to more applied issues, such as assessing anthropogenic effects on biodiversity, their consequences to human-wellbeing and as ameliorate them by using habitat-forming as nature-based solutions. Her previous research includes the description of a genus and 7 new invertebrate species to science.

Rafaela Costa holds a Bachelor’s (BSc) and Master’s (MSc) degree in Biochemistry, which were granted by the University of Porto in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Currently, she works as a research technician in the Laboratory of Nutrition, Growth and Quality of Fish (LANUCE), CIIMAR.

Master in Cellular and Molecular Biology (FCUP) and graduated in Genetics and Biotechnology (UTAD). Rafaela participated in research projects in neuronal regeneration at i3S and is currently part of CIIMAR within the InsectERA project, evaluating the impact of insect-derived ingredients on the cellular and tissue morphology of aquacultured fish. She has experience in molecular biology and cell culture techniques, with a strong interest in applied research.

Rafaela Perdigão holds a BSc degree in Biology (2015, FCUP) and a MSc degree in Environmental Toxicology and Contamination (2017, ICBAS), from the University of Porto. She is currently working as a PhD student at CIIMAR and ICBAS, exploring biodegradation of oils, maritime fuels and other pollutants inside ports, such as plastics, using marine microorganisms.
She has experience and know-how on autochthonous bioremediation of hydrocarbons, with a special focus on the optimization of bacterial consortia for marine environments. Her main research interests rely on the recovery of polluted marine environments, biotechnology and optimization of degradation processes.

Rafaela A. Santos obtained her PhD in Biology at CIIMAR-FCUP where she applied different microbiological, cellular, and molecular biology tools to characterize Bacillus spp. and their biotechnological applications as disease-preventive agents for the aquaculture sector. Currently, she is a Junior Researcher at Fish nutrition and welfare group dedicated to the development of novel strategies to fight diseases in aquaculture, including probiotics, oral vaccines and Bacillus bioactive compounds as disease-preventive molecules. Rafaela has more than 8 years of lab practical experience in academic settings with strong connections with the animal-feeds industries, counting 1 licensing agreement and 5 knowledge-transfer Business Ignition Programs.

Ralph Urbatzka is a principal researcher at CIIMAR, and team leader of “Biodiscovery for Health”. He graduated in Biology in 2002 in Cologne, Germany and received his PhD in 2007 in Molecular Biology from the Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany. His current research interests focus on the bioactivity screening and elucidation of molecular mechanism of natural products from aquatic ecosystems, in particular for metabolic diseases.

Raquel Castelo Branco has completed her degree in Genetics and Biotechnology in 2009 and Msc degree in Biotechnology of Health Science in 2011 by University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro. She is a postgraduated researcher at Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology (BBE) group and her research interests include microbial biodiversity, microbial ecology and natural products mainly produced by cyanobacteria with biotechnological and pharmacological applications.

Raquel Chaves is a researcher at CIIMAR-UP. She holds a PhD in Environmental Health (2022) granted by FMUL-UL with EPAL- Grupo Águas de Portugal. She graduated in Environmental Sciences and Technology (2011) from FCUP-UP with a master degree in Toxicology and Environmental Contamination (2013) from ICBAS-UP. Her current research interests include environmental and health risk assessment of emerging contaminants, safety plans of drinking water and toxicological characterization of disinfection by-products.

Raquel Pinto graduated in Biology in 2018, by the Biology Department of the University of Aveiro. She took her Master’s degree in Water Quality Biology and Management at FCUP. Her dissertation, developed in the Ecosignal research team of CIIMAR, was focused on the use of Raman spectroscopy applied to diatoms as an alternative methodology for environmental diagnosis and taxonomic identification. Currently, she is continuing her investigation as a Biology PhD student at FCUP. Her project focuses in the application of environmental diagnosis using Raman spectroscopy of diatoms to wider variety of spatial scales and ecosystems.

Raquel Ribeiro grew up and still lives in the region where she was born, Vila Nova de Gaia. She always studied in the area, from elementary school to Almeida Garret secondary school, where she chose science. She later completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, with a degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Aquatic Biological Resources.

Raquel Ruivo is a Researcher at CIIMAR. She holds a degree in Biology from the University of Aveiro (2005) and a PhD in Life Sciences, Biology and Health, awarded by the Paris-Sud University (2009). Her current research interests include comparative genomics and evolution, molecular toxicology and endocrine disruption.

Raul Valente is a PosDoc researcher at the Coastal Biodiversity Lab in CIIMAR. His research focuses on cetacean ecology and evolution. Within these two topics, he holds a strong interest in using monitoring tools to enhance cetacean conservation and investigating how molecular and environmental factors influenced cetacean unique phenotypes.
In collaboration with the AGE laboratory, his ongoing research focuses on comprehending cetacean population dynamics through genomic approaches and exploring the impact of gene loss in shaping the distinctive traits observed in cetaceans.

I’ve had a degree in Environmental Health since 2022 and I’m currently studying for a Masters in Occupational Health and Safety Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. My main goal at Ciimar is to promote a safe workplace for workers, eliminating and preventing all existing risks.

Renato de Medeiros Rocha is actually Associated Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (BR) and hold PhD degree in Biotechnology granted by the University of Tiradentes (BR). He is currently a pos-doc researcher at Soil/Water Interactions Laboratory. His main research interest focus on hipersaline environments, mainly microalgae and Artemia populations.

Renato Soares graduated in Biology in 2020 and obtained his master’s degree in bioinformatics and computational Biology in 2023 from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP). His master’s thesis focused on enhancing a database of bioactive compounds from cyanobacteria and creating an online website for it, as well as exploring the use of this database for machine learning purposes utilizing the compounds chemical/molecular descriptors. Renato is now involved in the Portuguese Blue Biobank project, where he oversees the construction and maintenance of the Biobank database.

Ricardo Alexandre Barroso graduated in 2019 in Biology and obtained his master’s degree in Applications in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology in 2021, by the Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto. Currently, he is a a PhD student in the Evolutionary Genomics and Bioinformatics research group at CIIMAR. His work is focused on the evolution and characterization of toxins from venomous marine invertebrates through the analysis of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes, exploring their ecological role and biomedical potential. He has research experience in bioinformatics, virology and parasitology, both in academia and industry.