Advisory board

Valentina Giussani

Regional Agency for the Ligurian Environmental Protection (ARPAL) | Marine biologist - technician

valentina.giussani@arpal.liguria.it

My area of interest has always been marine biology and its conservation using a multidisciplinary approach. During my academic career, my research has focused on the development of innovative systems for the monitoring and recognition of marine species (mainly phytoplankton) and the improvement of ecotoxicological analysis of marine samples.

Currently, I work at the Sea Centre of the Regional Agency for the Ligurian Environmental Protection (ARPAL). I'm involved in marine monitoring, drafting reports required under Marine Strategy and Habitat Directive, and the European Project focused on marine biodiversity conservation.

Filipa Bessa

University of Coimbra (Center of Functional Ecology CFE-UC) | Assistant Researcher

Filipa Bessa, a biologist with a background in Marine Ecology, has been dedicated to the topic of marine plastic pollution for the past 10 years. Her specialized knowledge in a multidisciplinary approach positions her as a key contributor to comprehensively addressing the challenges posed by plastic pollution. Her proficiency extends to the assessment of emergent contaminants in diverse aquatic environments, including estuarine, and marine habitats, across temperate, tropical, and polar regions. Filipa has actively participated in various international and national projects and her engagements have also involved fostering collaborations with diverse stakeholders through citizen science initiatives coordinating two projects (lixomarinho.app) and Portugal Pellets Watch.

Owen S. Wangensteen

University of Barcelona | Lecturer

owenwangensteen@ub.edu

Owen S: Wangensteen is an invertebrate zoologist, marine molecular ecologist and environmental bioinformatician, internationally recognized as an expert in the application of molecular data from high-throughput sequencing techniques to address ecological questions in marine ecosystems. He is actively developing metabarcoding techniques for eukaryotic biodiversity assessment of marine communities and meta phylogeographical approaches to assess genomic population diversity and connectivity from marine environmental DNA.