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Committees

External Advisory Committee

The External Council for Scientific and Technical Monitoring has the task of providing the essential elements for a correct scientific-technical evaluation of the Directorate’s activity plans and reports, as well as providing support to the Directorate on matters of a scientific-technical or pedagogical nature, issuing opinions and recommendations. It is made up of a minimum number of three and a maximum of five individuals, Portuguese or foreign, of recognized technical and scientific merit, appointed on a proposal from the Board for a period of four years.

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Françoise Médale
INRAE
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William Gerwick
Scripps Institute of Oceanography - USA
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Mike Elliot
Hull University
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Laura Giuliano
CIESM

Committees

PhD Students Committee

The PhD Students Committee was established in 2019 to serve as a representative body for all PhD students affiliated with CIIMAR. The committee aims to facilitate effective communication between students and the institution’s directive board, advocate for student rights, and organize activities that foster capacity-building and networking opportunities. These initiatives further encourage collaboration among students, researchers, and collaborators from the broader CIIMAR community, including all associated faculties.

The Committee organizes regularly a diverse range of social and scientific activities, including an annual reception to new PhD students, informal seminars featuring early career researchers and industry professionals from biotech companies, workshops, and the annual Blue Think Conference – the committee’s flagship and largest event.

PhD Commitee website
Diogo Oliveira

Diogo Jorge Faria Oliveira

PhD student
Human Resources

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.

Eva Lopes

Eva Silva Lopes

PhD student

Eva Lopes has a Master’s degree in Marine Sciences-Marine Resources, with a specialization in Marine Biology and Ecology (University of Porto). Currently, she is doing her PhD in the doctoral program “Marine Science, Technology and Management” at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. Her PhD thesis focuses on how the Atlantification phenomenon affects microbial communities in the Arctic Ocean, in terms of their diversity and interactions with each other, with a special focus on the nitrogen cycle. For her PhD, she collects samples at the Ny-Ålesund science station and works in partnership with the Norwegian Polar Institute.

RESEARCH GROUPS:
João Pedro Sousa

João Pedro Costa Sousa

PhD student

João holds a Bsc degree in Biology, and an MSc degree in Toxicology and Environmental Contamination from University of Porto. He is currently a PhD student at the same institution and at University of Lyon. His research stems from an international colaboration between CIIMAR and INRAE, and focuses mainly on endocrine disruption identification and assessment.

RESEARCH GROUPS:
Leonor Pizarro

Leonor Pizarro

Research Technician
RESEARCH GROUPS:
Marta Ribeiro

Marta Duarte Caldas Ribeiro

PhD student

Marta Ribeiro is a PhD student in Biology, at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), developing her project at CIIMAR in the EDEC team. Her research is mainly focused on the transgenerational effects of emergent contaminants in non-target aquatic organisms. Marta has a degree in Biology, from FCUP, since 2019 and completed her master’s degree in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar of the University of Porto, in 2021.

RESEARCH GROUPS:
Raquel Pinto

Raquel Abrunhosa Pinto

PhD student

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.

RESEARCH GROUPS:
Rúben Pereira

Rúben Micael Moreira Pereira

PhD student

Rúben took his BSc in Biology at FCUP and holds a MSc in Marine Sciences – Marine Resources from ICBAS, both institutions from the University of Porto. Currently he is working as a PhD student at CIIMAR in the Fish ecology and sustainability group, studying the impacts of microplastic contamination on primary producers and associated ecosystem services.

RESEARCH GROUPS:

Committees

ORBEA

ORBEA main aim is to advise, monitor and evaluate projects involving the use of animals, including:

Advice regarding the acquisition, housing, care and use of animals, as well as promoting the 3Rs of animal experimentation: replacement, reduction and refinements;

Definition of monitoring and information communication processe;

Monitoring project results, taking into account the effects on the animals;

Advice on relocation programs;

Responsible for CIIMAR:
Vitor Vasconcelos

Vitor Manuel Oliveira Vasconcelos

Group Leader

PhD in Biology at FCUP, Porto. Full Professor – Faculty of Sciences of Porto University and director of CIIMAR – Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research, Chief Strategy Officer – Agriculture – Fykia Biotech. Director of the Team of Blue Biotechnology and Health (BBE) of CIIMAR.
Main research: cyanobacteria secondary metabolites: toxins and molecules with biotechnological applications. Director of the LEGE culture collection comprising more than 2000 strains of cyanobacteria and microalgae. Published 490 papers in Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology. Coordinator of two H2020 projects: RISE and ERA Chair.
Director of the Doctoral Program in Marine Biotechnology and Aquaculture (U Porto and U Minho).

RESEARCH GROUPS:
responsible for supervising animal welfare:
Helena Peres

Maria Helena Tabuaço Rego Martins Peres

Researcher

Helena Peres is a Research Nutritionist for the Center of Marine and Environmental Research (CIMAR), at the University of Porto, Portugal, since 2003, and an Invited Associated Professor at the Sciences Faculty, at the University of Porto. Since 2010, she has been invited to collaborate with the post-graduation course, as an Invited Professor at UNESP- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University, AquaNutri, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. Her domain of specialization is fish nutrition, with particular interest to amino acids/protein and energy metabolism; nutritional strategies for reducing environmental impact of aquaculture; nutritional strategies to modulate wellbeing, stress and infection resistance, and Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA).

RESEARCH GROUPS:
responsible veterinarian:
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Nuno Miguel Moreira Ribeiro
Scientific responsibles:
Francisco Arenas

Francisco Arenas Parra

Group Leader

Proactive marine ecologist with more than 25 years of experience in the research coastal ecosystems. My research primarily involves experimental ecology and modeling tools to understand and predict the effects of global changes on coastal populations and ecosystems, from both structural and functional perspectives.
Keywords:
Marine Ecology, Coastal ecosystems, Climate change, Biodiversity, Ecosystem functioning, Marine Forests, Biological invasions, Phycology.
Head of the Benthic Ecology Team at CIIMAR since 2020.

RESEARCH GROUPS:
Laura Guimarães

Laura Maria Simões Coutinho Guimarães

Group Leader

I am Senior Scientist at CIIMAR, where I head the Ecosystem Monitoring and Sustainability (EcoSignal) team and the Technological Platform of Ecotoxicological Services. I am also Invited Assistant Professor, and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair Ocean Expert, at the University of Porto. I am a collaborator of the research group Monitoring and Modelling at Universidade Positivo (Brazil). My main expertise is in environmental toxicology and monitoring, hazard assessment, pollution and biodiversity, and ocean literacy. I got the Magellan Circumnavigation Research Prize (bee biodiversity, FCT) in 2020. My PhD is in Biomedical Sciences, with research work at the CNRS (France).

RESEARCH GROUPS:
Benjamin Costas Refojos

Benjamin Costas Refojos

Group Leader

Benjamín Costas completed a Masters in Aquaculture by the University of Algarve in 2006, and in 2011 achieved a PhD degree in Animal Science by the University of Porto. Benjamín Costas is currently Principal Researcher at CIIMAR and Head of Aquatic Animal Health, a young and strongly motivated team highlighting nutritional immunology as main research line. Dr. Costas is passionate about aquatic animal health and welfare and is actually coordinating several national and international projects in those topics. Main research is targeting novel strategies to improve fish disease resistance and welfare as well as on non-invasive biomarkers of animal health.

RESEARCH GROUPS:
Luísa Valente

Luísa Maria Pinheiro Valente

Group Leader

Luísa M.P. Valente (Ph.D.) is a biologist with over 25 years of research experience in fish nutrition and sustainable aquaculture focusing on: Fish robustness; Environmental impact; Muscle growth and flesh quality; Functional feeds; Circular economy, One Health.

Senior scientist and Full Professor at ICBAS, University of Porto. Director of the Animal Science Doctoral programme. Member of the Directive Board of CIIMAR, coordinator of the Biology, Aquaculture and Seafood Quality thematic line. Member of the Directive Board of B2E- Collaborative Laboratory for the Blue Bioeconomy. Member of the European Aquaculture Society (EAS) having served as board member during 4 years.

RESEARCH GROUPS:

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