election of new board
An election for a new board of ESMB is carried out during December 2021. The new board will be in charge for the period 2022-23.
Only members of the society can vote. Instructions for voting are sent by e-mail. We welcome new members, but unfortunately registration is presently not possible due to on-line payment difficulties. We hope to solve the problem soon.
Nominees for the Election of the Board of the ESMB (alphabetical order last name)
Up to a maximum of 5 ‘regular’ members plus one PhD student are to be elected.
ROBERTO T. ABDALA DIAZ
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5492-8598
Prof. Roberto T. Abdala Díaz, earned a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Saint Petersburg State University in Russia in 1985, and Ph.D. in Biological Science from Malaga University in Spain in 2001. Currently he teaches at the Ecology Department of Malaga University. His research interests are focused on the development of marine biotechnological processes and the treatment of wastewater (urban, pig farm, aquaculture), environmental biotechnology, and mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae in different photobioreactors. He has developed techniques for separation and purification of various metabolites of algae, especially polysaccharides with antitumor and immunomodulatory properties and he has extensive experience in the extraction of bioactive compounds from marine organisms for use in medicine and pharmacology. He has over 25 publications in refereed journals and has supervised two Ph.D. thesis in 2012 and other two are being developed. He is professor of the Advanced Biotechnology Master at Malaga University, and teaches Marine Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology in the Degree of Biochemistry, and Ecology in the Degree of Biology and Environmental Sciences. He has worked with different International relationships such as the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the Concepción University, Tarapacá University and Catholic University of the North of Chile; University of Baja California and the CICESE of Mexico; University of Incheon South Korea, among others. He has directed several research projects and currently work on the European project “SABANA”. “Sustainable Integrated Algae Biorefinery for the Production of Bioactive Compounds for Agriculture and Aquaculture.”
RENATA DENARO
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4341-197X
Renata Denaro is a Researcher at the Water Research Institute of the National Research Council and Professor of Marine Microbial Biotechnology at the University of Tor Vergata (Rome). She is awarded in Biological Sciences, qualified as a Professional Biologist, awarded Ph.D in Biochemical and Biomolecular Sciences, qualified at the National Scientific Qualification for full and associated Professor in Microbiology. Her work experience starts from the lab where she worked initially on marine biochemistry field and then on marine biotechnology focusing on bioremediation based on bacteria able to degrade hydrocarbons and plastic in marine environment. Products from marine bacteria (eg. siderophore) are as well objects of her study. During her career, Renata was involved in many national and international projects both as participant and in some case as task leader, among the most meaningful experiences the European projects: KILL SPILL - Integrated Biotechnological Solutions for Combating Marine Oil Spills, MAGIC-PAH Molecular Approaches and MetaGenomic Investigations for optimizing Clean-up of PAH contaminated sites and BRAAVOO Biosensors for real-time monitoring of marine environment. She was also involved in CSA ERANET Marine Biotechnology before and ERANET Marine Biotechnology after, as a delegate of the National Research Council. Now she is member of the working group on Marine Biotechnology of the ERANET BlueBio Cofund. Moreover, Renata within the CNR has led from 2010 to 2015 the research activity “Anthropogenic Impact on marine ecosystems: microbiology and environmental biotechnology” based on the organizational model Management Plans of the CNR. She was responsible AZ3 WP2 Communication activities for Stakeholders, within the Flag Project RITMARE. She was member of the Teaching Committee of the PhD in Biology and Cellular Biotechnology XXVIII cycle and member of selection board for researcher recruitments. She was representative for studies and scientific research entrusted by qualified private and public institutions (eg. ENI or Italian Marine Military). She has participated to the organization of the international course on Marine Biotechnology within a joint effort of the ERANET BlueMED and ERANET BlueBIO. She is author of more of 40 peer-reviewed articles and 10 book chapters and co-inventor of a patent for industrial invention (process + apparatus).
SERGEY DOBRETSOV
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1769-6388
Sergey is the UNESCO Chair in Marine Biotechnology, the Board Member of the International Society for Marine Biotechnology, the Director of the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology, a Full Professor at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Previously, he was the President of the ESMB. He has worked with polar, temporal and tropical marine benthic communities for more than 28 years in leading biofouling research centres in Russia, Hong Kong, Germany and the USA. His main field of research focuses on biotechnology for the development of new non-toxic antifouling solutions, microbial chemical interactions and novel antimicrobials. He has participated in several international projects in these areas. His discoveries are widely published in international peer-reviewed journals (>150), books (2), book chapters (10) and patents (5). He is a recipient of several prestigious fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Otto-Kinne Foundation, and George E. Burch. He is on the editorial boards of the journals Marine Ecology Progress Series, Biofouling, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and Frontiers.
SABEENA FARVIN. K. HABEEBULLAH
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3806-8663
Dr. Sabeena Farvin. K. Habeebullah is an Associate Research Scientist at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait. She had her Masters and Ph.D. (2007) in Fisheries Science with specialization in Biochemistry from Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai, India. During her stint as a postdoc and as a senior research scientist at the Technical University of Denmark, Denmark, she pioneered her research in bioprospecting with special reference to natural antioxidants. She has extensive experience in the isolation and characterization of various bioactive compounds from both marine and terrestrial sources. Her work in antioxidants was well received by the scientific community and bagged her two international awards, namely Edwin Frankel best paper award (2010) from the American Oil Chemists Society and the young lipid scientist award (2011) from the European Federation of Lipid Science and Technology, Germany, in addition to several national awards. She has published more than 35 articles in international peer-reviewed journals of repute in her field. She has one European patent as an inventor in addition to several conference publications and book chapters. Now, she is working on different projects dealing with marine bioprospecting from Arabian Gulf (algae, marine bacteria, and marine invertebrates) as a project leader or co-investigator.
GIOVANNA ROMANO
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4898-7153
Giovanna Romano is senior researcher at of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, in the Eco-sustainable Marine Biotechnology Department (www.szn.it).
She graduated in Biological Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II, summa cum laude. Scholarship holder in Biochemistry for six years and subsequently permanent researcher at the SZN.
The major focus of her past researches was the effects and mechanisms of action of bioactive secondary metabolites from marine diatoms using different in vitro and in vivo model systems.
She was involved in several Italian and EU projects focusing on drug discovery from marine microalgae and she is now coordinating a bilateral project Italy-South Africa aiming at identifying new biosynthetic pathways for valuable compounds in diatoms, though a genome-mining approach.
Current research interest is the identification and exploitation of diatom-derived natural compounds for the development of new products for pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical applications, with a special attention on the study of pathways involved in the biosynthesis of valuable molecules.
Dr. Romano is partner in the SZN-CNR spin-off company BioSEArch srl , founded in 2016 for the development of new pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical compounds from marine microalgae. https://www.biosearchsrl.com/
TIAGO H. SILVA
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3408-3284
Tiago H. Silva is Principal Researcher (tenured) at 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, from University of Minho (Portugal), member of ICVS/3B’s Associated Laboratory, being coordinator of research on Marine Inspired Biomaterials. He is also member of the General Council of the University of Minho. He has a PhD in Chemistry (2006) by Faculty of Sciences – University of Porto (Portugal) and was visiting PhD student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland) in 2003.
He has more than 15 years of experience in valorization of marine resources and by-products and his research focus on the cross-talk between blue and red biotechnologies, by aiming the development of marine inspired biomaterials for regenerative medicine strategies, mainly focusing on bone, cartilage and cornea tissue engineering, as well as on diabetes and cancer advanced therapies. Marine biomimetics is also being explored, looking into particular features and phenomena of marine sponges and other marine invertebrates as inspiration for the design of innovative biomedical applications.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
ELEONORA CURCURACI
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9386-0717
Eleonora is currently enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Palermo (Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, DISTEM), in the Laboratory of Marine Biochemistry and Ecotoxicology of Trapani (Italy) under the supervision of Doctor Andrea Santulli and Doctor Concetta Maria Messina, in collaboration with the Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Environment Marin (LEMAR), supervised by Professor Claire Hellio (Université de Bretagne Occidentale, France) as foreign tutor of the PhD project entitled: “Production of high value-added nutraceuticals in a multitrophic aquaculture system within a closed-circuit marine hatchery (NUTRAQUA)”. The main objective of the NUTRAQUA project is to combine aquaculture and biotechnology through the extraction and the characterisation of bioactive compounds, obtained from extractives species associated to fish, and their potential utilisation in nutraceutical field.
Fixed seats (Non-Elected Board Members)
President: Concetta Messina
Secretary: Maria Salta
Treasurer: Jean-Pascal Berge
UBIO representative: Claire Hellio
Industry representative: Jean Paul Cadoret
Marine Biotechnology journal representative: Victoria Ferrara
Honorary members: Grant Burgess
Membership is open to anyone and no membership qualifications are required. The membership fee is 50€ per year for regular members and 25€ for students. To become a member, please visit our website: http://www.esmb.org/membership-registration.html (presently out of order).
Kind regards,
The ESMB Board
Only members of the society can vote. Instructions for voting are sent by e-mail. We welcome new members, but unfortunately registration is presently not possible due to on-line payment difficulties. We hope to solve the problem soon.
Nominees for the Election of the Board of the ESMB (alphabetical order last name)
Up to a maximum of 5 ‘regular’ members plus one PhD student are to be elected.
ROBERTO T. ABDALA DIAZ
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5492-8598
Prof. Roberto T. Abdala Díaz, earned a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Saint Petersburg State University in Russia in 1985, and Ph.D. in Biological Science from Malaga University in Spain in 2001. Currently he teaches at the Ecology Department of Malaga University. His research interests are focused on the development of marine biotechnological processes and the treatment of wastewater (urban, pig farm, aquaculture), environmental biotechnology, and mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae in different photobioreactors. He has developed techniques for separation and purification of various metabolites of algae, especially polysaccharides with antitumor and immunomodulatory properties and he has extensive experience in the extraction of bioactive compounds from marine organisms for use in medicine and pharmacology. He has over 25 publications in refereed journals and has supervised two Ph.D. thesis in 2012 and other two are being developed. He is professor of the Advanced Biotechnology Master at Malaga University, and teaches Marine Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology in the Degree of Biochemistry, and Ecology in the Degree of Biology and Environmental Sciences. He has worked with different International relationships such as the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the Concepción University, Tarapacá University and Catholic University of the North of Chile; University of Baja California and the CICESE of Mexico; University of Incheon South Korea, among others. He has directed several research projects and currently work on the European project “SABANA”. “Sustainable Integrated Algae Biorefinery for the Production of Bioactive Compounds for Agriculture and Aquaculture.”
RENATA DENARO
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4341-197X
Renata Denaro is a Researcher at the Water Research Institute of the National Research Council and Professor of Marine Microbial Biotechnology at the University of Tor Vergata (Rome). She is awarded in Biological Sciences, qualified as a Professional Biologist, awarded Ph.D in Biochemical and Biomolecular Sciences, qualified at the National Scientific Qualification for full and associated Professor in Microbiology. Her work experience starts from the lab where she worked initially on marine biochemistry field and then on marine biotechnology focusing on bioremediation based on bacteria able to degrade hydrocarbons and plastic in marine environment. Products from marine bacteria (eg. siderophore) are as well objects of her study. During her career, Renata was involved in many national and international projects both as participant and in some case as task leader, among the most meaningful experiences the European projects: KILL SPILL - Integrated Biotechnological Solutions for Combating Marine Oil Spills, MAGIC-PAH Molecular Approaches and MetaGenomic Investigations for optimizing Clean-up of PAH contaminated sites and BRAAVOO Biosensors for real-time monitoring of marine environment. She was also involved in CSA ERANET Marine Biotechnology before and ERANET Marine Biotechnology after, as a delegate of the National Research Council. Now she is member of the working group on Marine Biotechnology of the ERANET BlueBio Cofund. Moreover, Renata within the CNR has led from 2010 to 2015 the research activity “Anthropogenic Impact on marine ecosystems: microbiology and environmental biotechnology” based on the organizational model Management Plans of the CNR. She was responsible AZ3 WP2 Communication activities for Stakeholders, within the Flag Project RITMARE. She was member of the Teaching Committee of the PhD in Biology and Cellular Biotechnology XXVIII cycle and member of selection board for researcher recruitments. She was representative for studies and scientific research entrusted by qualified private and public institutions (eg. ENI or Italian Marine Military). She has participated to the organization of the international course on Marine Biotechnology within a joint effort of the ERANET BlueMED and ERANET BlueBIO. She is author of more of 40 peer-reviewed articles and 10 book chapters and co-inventor of a patent for industrial invention (process + apparatus).
SERGEY DOBRETSOV
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1769-6388
Sergey is the UNESCO Chair in Marine Biotechnology, the Board Member of the International Society for Marine Biotechnology, the Director of the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology, a Full Professor at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Previously, he was the President of the ESMB. He has worked with polar, temporal and tropical marine benthic communities for more than 28 years in leading biofouling research centres in Russia, Hong Kong, Germany and the USA. His main field of research focuses on biotechnology for the development of new non-toxic antifouling solutions, microbial chemical interactions and novel antimicrobials. He has participated in several international projects in these areas. His discoveries are widely published in international peer-reviewed journals (>150), books (2), book chapters (10) and patents (5). He is a recipient of several prestigious fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Otto-Kinne Foundation, and George E. Burch. He is on the editorial boards of the journals Marine Ecology Progress Series, Biofouling, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and Frontiers.
SABEENA FARVIN. K. HABEEBULLAH
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3806-8663
Dr. Sabeena Farvin. K. Habeebullah is an Associate Research Scientist at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait. She had her Masters and Ph.D. (2007) in Fisheries Science with specialization in Biochemistry from Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai, India. During her stint as a postdoc and as a senior research scientist at the Technical University of Denmark, Denmark, she pioneered her research in bioprospecting with special reference to natural antioxidants. She has extensive experience in the isolation and characterization of various bioactive compounds from both marine and terrestrial sources. Her work in antioxidants was well received by the scientific community and bagged her two international awards, namely Edwin Frankel best paper award (2010) from the American Oil Chemists Society and the young lipid scientist award (2011) from the European Federation of Lipid Science and Technology, Germany, in addition to several national awards. She has published more than 35 articles in international peer-reviewed journals of repute in her field. She has one European patent as an inventor in addition to several conference publications and book chapters. Now, she is working on different projects dealing with marine bioprospecting from Arabian Gulf (algae, marine bacteria, and marine invertebrates) as a project leader or co-investigator.
GIOVANNA ROMANO
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4898-7153
Giovanna Romano is senior researcher at of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, in the Eco-sustainable Marine Biotechnology Department (www.szn.it).
She graduated in Biological Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II, summa cum laude. Scholarship holder in Biochemistry for six years and subsequently permanent researcher at the SZN.
The major focus of her past researches was the effects and mechanisms of action of bioactive secondary metabolites from marine diatoms using different in vitro and in vivo model systems.
She was involved in several Italian and EU projects focusing on drug discovery from marine microalgae and she is now coordinating a bilateral project Italy-South Africa aiming at identifying new biosynthetic pathways for valuable compounds in diatoms, though a genome-mining approach.
Current research interest is the identification and exploitation of diatom-derived natural compounds for the development of new products for pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical applications, with a special attention on the study of pathways involved in the biosynthesis of valuable molecules.
Dr. Romano is partner in the SZN-CNR spin-off company BioSEArch srl , founded in 2016 for the development of new pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical compounds from marine microalgae. https://www.biosearchsrl.com/
TIAGO H. SILVA
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3408-3284
Tiago H. Silva is Principal Researcher (tenured) at 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs – Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, from University of Minho (Portugal), member of ICVS/3B’s Associated Laboratory, being coordinator of research on Marine Inspired Biomaterials. He is also member of the General Council of the University of Minho. He has a PhD in Chemistry (2006) by Faculty of Sciences – University of Porto (Portugal) and was visiting PhD student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland) in 2003.
He has more than 15 years of experience in valorization of marine resources and by-products and his research focus on the cross-talk between blue and red biotechnologies, by aiming the development of marine inspired biomaterials for regenerative medicine strategies, mainly focusing on bone, cartilage and cornea tissue engineering, as well as on diabetes and cancer advanced therapies. Marine biomimetics is also being explored, looking into particular features and phenomena of marine sponges and other marine invertebrates as inspiration for the design of innovative biomedical applications.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
ELEONORA CURCURACI
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9386-0717
Eleonora is currently enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Palermo (Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, DISTEM), in the Laboratory of Marine Biochemistry and Ecotoxicology of Trapani (Italy) under the supervision of Doctor Andrea Santulli and Doctor Concetta Maria Messina, in collaboration with the Laboratoire des Sciences de l’Environment Marin (LEMAR), supervised by Professor Claire Hellio (Université de Bretagne Occidentale, France) as foreign tutor of the PhD project entitled: “Production of high value-added nutraceuticals in a multitrophic aquaculture system within a closed-circuit marine hatchery (NUTRAQUA)”. The main objective of the NUTRAQUA project is to combine aquaculture and biotechnology through the extraction and the characterisation of bioactive compounds, obtained from extractives species associated to fish, and their potential utilisation in nutraceutical field.
Fixed seats (Non-Elected Board Members)
President: Concetta Messina
Secretary: Maria Salta
Treasurer: Jean-Pascal Berge
UBIO representative: Claire Hellio
Industry representative: Jean Paul Cadoret
Marine Biotechnology journal representative: Victoria Ferrara
Honorary members: Grant Burgess
Membership is open to anyone and no membership qualifications are required. The membership fee is 50€ per year for regular members and 25€ for students. To become a member, please visit our website: http://www.esmb.org/membership-registration.html (presently out of order).
Kind regards,
The ESMB Board