Diana Fernandes holds a PhD in Urban Ecology and Landscape Architecture, by the Faculty of Science of the University of Porto (FCUP). She’s part of E.RIO’s multidisciplinary team, a company focused on river rehabilitation, and her mission is to improve river ecosystems, by promoting natural water retention measures within landscape architecture practice, from project scale to landscape and regional planning. She also worked on green infrastructure and spatial planning, at FCUP, and has a post-graduation on Spatial Planning, Urbanism and Environmental Law, by the Center for Studies in Planning, Urban Planning and Environmental Law (CEDOUA) of the University of Coimbra.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Ecology and Environment from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Aquatic Sciences – Biology and Ecology. The title of my project is “The effects of climate change on Patella spp. early stages of development.”

I have a bachelor’s degree in aquatic sciences at ICBAS and a master’s degree in conservation
biology at FCUL. During my master’s degree, I had the opportunity to do my thesis on the
ACCURATE project, where I analyzed acoustic tag data with R software and counted narwhal
foraging sounds in MT Viewer software to obtain a mean cue rate estimate that will be required
to obtain an estimate of narwhal’s density in the future. Currently, I am at LANUCE as a technician
for the Pep4Fish project, which aims to develop diets that will improve sea bass health, growth,
and their resistance to stress and bacterial infections.

Diana Pádua is an invited Assistant Professor in the Department of Microscopy at ICBAS-UP. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at ICBAS-UP (ipatimup/i3S), in 2024, receiving an International Award for Best PhD Thesis in Cancer. Diana holds a Master’s in Biochemistry (2017) and a Bachelor’s in Biology (2015), both from UP. She has published 9 articles, with 6 as first author, and holds a FELASA Category C certificate. She has two provisional patent applications and participated in multiple research projects.

Diana Resende received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Aveiro in 2014 and integrated the CIIMAR team in 2016 as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a researcher. As an Organic Chemist, Diana is interested in investigating the use of siderophores and siderophore mimetics to develop new and efficient strategies that could mitigate toxic heavy metal contamination and/or antimicrobial resistance. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator of a FCT-funded “Siderophore efflux pump inhibitors (SEPIs) conjugates: A new concept for environmental problems” and a CIIMAR-funded COB research project “Impact of synthetic chelating agents on metal toxicity in deep-sea bacteria”.

Biologist with 17 years of experience working in several branches of life sciences in Portugal and Switzerland, such as: Population Genetics, Microbiological Indicators of contamination by hospital wastewater, Clinical Analysis (Microbiology, Immunology, Hematology and Clinical Chemistry). About 4 years of experience as a high school and junior high school teacher of Natural Sciences, Earth and Life Sciences and Biology Laboratory Techniques. Volunteer service with children as a summer camp monitor (MOCAMFE) and in institutions supporting disadvantaged children in Singapore. She enjoys working closely with children and motivating guided exploration of the environment, promoting an inquisitive and critical spirit, as well as seeking information from reliable sources and transmitting and integrating knowledge into their daily lives.

Diana Sousa holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Aveiro. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Microbiology at the same institution. At CIIMAR her work focuses on studying the diversity and functions of microbial communities on the Arctic Ocean ice platform.

Diana has a degree in Biochemistry (2017) and a MSc in Applications in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology (2022) by the University of Porto. Currently, she is a Master Student Fellow for the PROPELLER project in the Cyanobacterial Natural Products team. Her work is manly focused on the heterologous expression of cyanobacterial biosynthetic gene clusters derived from uncultured specimens to uncover new secondary metabolites. Recently, she started to work also in protein expression and purification.

Graduated in Biology in the University of Murcia (Spain). M.Sc. in Management of the Biodiversity in Mediterranean Environments in the University of Murcia (Spain). Master's Thesis focused on the body condition in freshwater fishes along the Segura River basin. Ph.D. in Biology in the University of Barcelona (Spain) and the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (Tarragona, Spain). Doctoral Dissertation focused on the larviculture of brachyuran crabs, as well as the description (anatomical and histological) of its digestive system during the development. Post-doctoral research realized in the Centro de Maricultura da Calheta (Madeira, Portugal) focused on the culture of limpets.

Biologist and PhD Researcher in Aquatic and Environmental Sciences, highliting on Taxonomy, Systematics, Ecology, Environmental Education, Science Communication, Ocean Literacy. He has experience in several biological groups, with emphasis on invertebrates – for example polychaetes, echinoderms, mollusks, crustaceans – associated with aquatic bioengineering organisms, such as algae. He has a background in museology, scientific curation of collections, including fixation and conservation of specimens. Scientific Collections Editor at GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility). He is a researcher at CIIMAR/U.Porto, and provides research support at the Aquamuseu do Rio Minho, with partnerships in Brazil and Spain. Associate member of the Systematics Association/UK

Diogo A. M. Alexandrino is a researcher at CIIMAR and an Invited Adjunct Professor at the Department of Environmental Health of School of Health (Polytechnic of Porto). Diogo’s main research interest focuses on studying the physiology and metabolism of the bacterial degradation/transformation of (poly)fluorinated pollutants. He’s also highly interested in harnessing bacterial processes for pollution control, to mitigate anthropogenic pressures and to improve the circularity of various waste streams, either by using axenic bacteria, tailored bacterial consortia or by merging bacterial metabolism with synthetic processes.

Diogo Filipe has a bachelor’s in Biology and holds a master’s in Aquatic Biological Resources. Currently he is working on his PhD thesis with the main focus on employing biotechnology tools to improve nutritional qualities of agro-industrial wastes and produce valuable products to be used in aquaculture.

Diogo Luís is currently a PhD student in Physics. His PhD thesis title is “Dusty Atmospheric Rivers: relationship between intense transport of water vapour and aerosols in the Iberian Peninsula”. He holds a Master’s degree in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and a Degree in Meteorology, Oceanography and Geophysics, both by University of Aveiro. His research interests include the study of the hydrological cycle, atmospheric rivers, atmospheric aerosols, aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions, and atmospheric modelling.

Diogo Machado graduated in Environmental Science and Technology at Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto in 2020, and currently he is a Master student in Environmental Science and Technology. Since his bachelor’s internship, he has been working on environmental soil contamination and risk assessment, particularly he has been a part of the research project “@10 years – Ten years of OHM: data compilation for a holistic environmental and human health risk assessment”, financed by the LABEX DRIIHM (Agence Nationale de la Recherché, France).

Diogo Ferreira Martins earned a B.Sc. in General and Aquatic Biology from the University of Porto in 2011. He received a Fulbright Research Grant in 2013 for studying migratory fish physiology at the US Geological Survey, MA, USA. He obtained a Ph.D. in Animal Science in 2016 from the University of Porto and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Massachusetts, MA, USA in 2017. Diogo specializes in molecular physiology and endocrinology, and he is currently a researcher in the Biodiscovery for Health (B4H) group conducting research focused on the exploration of cyanobacteria/microalgae for biotechnological and biomedical research.

Diogo Oliveira completed his Master degree in Biochemistry in 2017, in the University of Porto, doing work centred on the evolution of cobalamin metabolism in vertebrates. He is currently a PhD student at CIIMAR, with research focused on the evolution of xenobiotic metabolism in Cetacea.

Diogo Peixoto holds a PhD in Animal Science, awarded by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar – School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS) at the University of Porto. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Animal Health and Aquaculture group at CIIMAR. As a member of the A2S team since 2018, Diogo has been involved in several research projects related to nutritional immunology using model organisms with economic value for the aquaculture industry. His research line is focus on fish metabolism and on the bi-directional pathways between neuroendocrine and immune systems.

Diogo Silva graduated in Biology in 2005 at Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, and holds a MSc in Marine Sciences-Marine Resources from ICBAS – University of Porto. Diogo participated in different projects at CIIMAR (e.g. Benefits, MYTAG, OMARE), and contributed as an author for the publication of several scientific papers published in international journals, three as a main author. Currently, Diogo is working as a PhD student (Aquatic Sciences – Biology and Ecology, from ICBAS) at CIIMAR, in an investigation related with microplastics in seafood.

Domitília Matias is a Senior Researcher at Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere. She received her degree in Marine Biology in 1991 and her PhD in 2013 in Environment from New University of Lisbon – FCT. Her research interests focus on Bivalve aquaculture, more specifically on Reproduction and Nutrition Interaction aquaculture/environment

Dora Ferreira has a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicinal Biotechnology, from the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP-ESS) and is currently a student of the Master’s Degree in Applied Microbiology from the Faculty of Biotechnology of the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP-ESB). Her Master’s dissertation is being developed at the Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology group, at CIIMAR, with a BYT+ scholarship. The focus of this work is to apply OSMaC (one strain, many compounds) strategies to yield novel cyanobacterial natural products with biotechnological/pharmaceutical interest.

I’m a master’s student in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution at Research Center for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO). I am currently interning at the Museum of Natural History of the Iberian Peninsula (NatMIP), integrated with the group of Rivers and Coastal Ecology (RACE) from CIIMAR, focusing on discovering the Iberian coastal fauna through integrative taxonomy. During my bachelor, I participated in the Blue Young Talent (BYT) undergraduate program, working on the ecology of the diadromous fish Allis shad on the Minho River. I am a co-author of 2 index publications and a book.

I’m interested in biogeography, evolutionary biology and conservation, and have worked with a variety of terrestrial and aquatic taxa. My academic theses have focused on analysing evolutionary and biogeographic patterns at different spatial and time scales using GIS, ecological niche-based models and genetics, mostly of terrestrial and semi-aquatic desert herpetofauna from West Africa. I also did some work with fish and freshwater mussels. Presently I am studying the distribution and evolution of freshwater biodiversity of North African semi-arid regions and how it contrasts with terrestrial patterns. I have accumulated hundreds of fieldwork days in expeditions to remote locations, mostly Africa, and strive for balance among exploration, conservation, learning and hypothesis-based scientific thinking.

Eduarda Almeida is currently an PhD student at Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. She graduated in Biology in 2012 and completed her MSc in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2014, both at Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. Her main research interests are focused on microbiology, specifically on the search for novel bioactive compounds from extremophile microorganisms.

Born and raised in Natal, Northeast Brazil, he is passionate about coastal sciences, more especially, processes involving ocean waves. He holds a bachelor’s in Environmental Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, with an exchange period at The University of Adelaide, Australia, with postgraduate studies in Physical Oceanography at the University of Sao Paulo and a Master’s in Water and Coastal Management at the universities of Bologna, Cadiz, and Algarve, within the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree program. He also has professional experience in the private sector, working as a numerical modeler for coastal processes, and in research institutes such as LNEC, Lisbon, and IH Cantabria, Santander. He is currently holding a researcher contract with CIIMAR and pursuing his Ph.D. on Civil Engineering – Hydraulics and Coastal Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, as a fellow of the “la Caixa” foundation.

Eduardo Rocha is a Full Professor of ICBAS-UPorto and Integrated PhD Member at CIIMAR. Holds the Licenciatura in Aquatic Sciences and PhD and Habilitation in Biomedical Sciences. Attended three years of Medicine. He is PI of the Animal Morphology and Toxicology Team (CIIMAR) and Director of the Histology and Embryology Laboratory (ICBAS). His research covers histophysiology of fish gonads and liver, presence, effects and MOA of some classical and emerging pollutants in fish and cancer cell lines. He mentored/co-mentored over 30 MSc and 12 PhD students and authored/co-authored over 250 international publications, including over 200 articles in indexed journals.