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.

Francisca Oliveira obtained a BSc degree in Biology by Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (2023). Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s in Cellular and Molecular Biology and doing an internship at CIIMAR, with support from a BYT+ scholarship and joining the “Microbial Biodegradation and Bioprospection” research group.

Juliana Ferreira holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Porto (2022), having conducted research as a Scientific Initiation Fellow at i3S. She is currently pursuing an MSc in Applications in Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. She is part of the Blue Young Talent Plus (BYT+) programme at CIIMAR, where she is carrying out her MSc internship in the Biodegradation and Microbial Bioprospecting research group. Her main research interests include the development of novel biotechnological products with applications in marine and industrial environments.

Mariana Girão is a PhD student, currently enrolled in the Biomedical Sciences doctoral program at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto. Mariana’s research focus on bioprospecting the diversity and secondary metabolism of marine-sourced Actinobacteria to uncover novel natural products with pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Mariana holds a BSc in Aquatic Sciences (2016, ICBAS-UP) and a MSc in Cell and Molecular Biology (2018, FCUP).

Mariana Oliveira holds a BSc in Biology from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (University of Lisbon) and a MSc in Human Biology and Environment from the Faculty of Sciences (University of Lisbon). She started working at CIIMAR-UP in 2019 to work on the isolation and identification of toxin-producing fungi. In 2021, Mariana was awarded a PhD FCT grant through the BYT program. She currently is a PhD student in Aquatic Sciences – Biology and Ecology (School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto). In the project Mariana is developing, she aims to isolate novel natural bioactive compounds produced by Actinobacteria associated with marine sponges.

Marta Vaz Mendes graduated in Biochemistry (1997) from the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and completed her PhD degree in Plant and Microbial Biotechnology (2003) at the University of León (Spain). She completed postdoctoral projects in Spain, France and Portugal. Since 2007 she led a research team at IBMC/i3S.  She is an Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences and ICBAS (University of Porto) and in 2025 she joined CIIMAR as a Principal Investigator.

Throughout her career, her main scientific interest has been the molecular mechanisms governing the production of secondary metabolites in Actinobacteria. Her research aims to translate the knowledge on secondary metabolism into innovative biotechnological strategies for producing natural products.

Sofia Correia is a PhD student, currently enrolled in the Biomedical Sciences doctoral program at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto. Sofia’s research focus in to investigate Actinobacteria from two highly underexplored environments, deep sea and karst caves, for the discovery of new bioactive compounds with pharmacological relevance. Sofia holds a BSc in Biochemistry (2019, UTAD) and a MSc in Biochemistry (2021, FCUP-ICBAS, UP).