Internal Speakers
Calabria Marine Centre – CRIMAC, EMI Department
Calabria Marine Centre – CRIMAC, BLUBIO Department
Christian Galasso is a researcher specializing in the characterization of marine natural compounds with bioactive properties relevant to both human and marine biotechnology. His recent work focuses on coral-associated microbiomes and their functional roles in coral health and resilience. In particular, he is working on the isolation, cultivation, and functional profiling of beneficial bacteria with probiotic potential, aiming to enhance coral stress tolerance and support innovative reef restoration strategies. By integrating microbiology, marine ecology, and biotechnology, his research contributes to the development of nature-based solutions to promote coral resilience in the context of climate change and restoration.
Calabria Marine Centre – CRIMAC, EMI Department
Genoa Marine Centre, EMI Department
Sicily Marine Centre, BLUBIO Department
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn – Rome, BEOM Department
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn – Naples, Department of Marine Integrative Ecology (EMI)
Allelopathic communication, including macro- e microorganisms, is one of the most fascinating aspects, in my view, when conducting research in marine ecosystems. A major scope in my recent studies is to disentangle the functionality and evolution of symbiosis in the sea. In this sense, I am interested in understanding the metabolic role of the microbiome and its contribution to adaptability towards stress and environmental changes. I also aim to estimate the weight of associated microbes in organisms’ health, immunity and ecological competence through the production of bioactive compounds. In the course of my career I had the chance to participate in scientific cruises, campaigns and projects in Antarctica, the Mediterranean and in Tropical and sub-Tropical seas, developing studies in diverse topics. My projects combine underwater fieldwork for sample collections, monitoring and transplant experiments with living organisms, as well as laboratory work, involving microscopy, molecular biology, analytic chemistry and isotopic studies.
External Speakers
Kiel University (Germany)
Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin” – Sapienza University of Rome
PhD in Evolutionary Biology (1994), currently Professor of Zoology and of Systematic Biology at Sapienza University of Rome.
Research centred on Evolutionary Biology with a focus on the patterns and dynamics of biodiversity, and on the evolutionary processes, and with marine molluscs as the preferred experimental model. Research activities spanning from data and sample collecting in the field, to the work in a molecular systematics lab, eventually to data analysis in a bioinformatic framework. Participant in and/or organizer of dozens of collecting expeditions at many distinct localities (from the SW Pacific to the Indian Ocean, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Antarctic), shore-based and on-board international research vessels, logging more than 2000 scientific SCUBA dives. Author of over 180 scientific papers (mostly on molluscs, but also on insects and vertebrates).
Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology (MISE) Lab, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus (Japan)
James Davis Reimer’s research focuses on the biodiversity of understudied marine invertebrate groups from shallow tropical coral reefs to the deep sea. Recent research has also examined the impact of coastal development on marine diversity and ecosystems. Since 2007, he has been based at the University of the Ryukyus, where he is now a professor.
In 2015, he was awarded the Okinawa Research Prize for science contributing to the well-being and understanding of the Ryukyu Islands, in 2021 he was awarded the Narishige Prize by the Zoological Society of Japan in recognition of his unique research output, and in 2024 chosen as a Fellow of the International Coral Reef Society.
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Zb9OFfgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
University of Miami, (USA)
Paul Sikkel, PhD is a Research Professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences in the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology. His current research focus is on the ecology of host-parasite interactions in coral reef systems, and behavioral ecology of fishes, particularly cleaning symbiosis. Dr. Sikkel obtained his MSc (1990) and PhD (1993) from Oregon State University. His international research program includes sites and collaborators in the Caribbean, Philippines, Africa, Australia, and the Mediterranean. His team is a strong supporter of the integration of the arts and sciences and collaborates regularly with artists and musicians world-wide to broaden the impact of their research. Paul’s work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including National Geographic (film and print) and the BBC (including Blue Planet II). His diverse research team includes students from multiple countries, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
https://people.miami.edu/profile/090af208b5a0656c7e776b2b2b806f2f
University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) and MaRHE Center, Magoodhoo, Faafu (Maldives)
I am a marine biologist interested in the ecology of the coral reef systems and their inhabitants. My research activities are mainly focusing on the assessment of the health and physiological condition of corals following different environmental stress factors inducing coral bleaching, the analysis of their stress response from a molecular/cellular (multi-omics approach) to an ecological perspective, and on stress mitigation strategies. I am also vice-director and scientific coordinator of the Marine Research and High Education Center (MaRHE Center), located in the Republic of Maldives.
Environmental Cell Biology Group – University of Vienna (Austria)
I study the cell biology of obligate bacterial symbionts in marine nematodes and mammals, with a particular focus on how bacterial cell shape, spatial arrangement, and chromatin organization influence animal–bacterium associations (e.g., Pende et al., 2018 Current Biology; Weber et al., 2019 Current Biology; Nyongesa, Weber et al., 2022 Nature Communications). Beyond microbial symbioses, I teach and write about how organisms across the tree of life adapt their genomes and phenotypes in response to environmental challenges (Brave Genomes, Bulgheresi, Academic Press/Elsevier, 2025).
https://archaea.univie.ac.at/research/silvia-bulgheresi-lab/
University of Greifswald, Germany – Helmholtz Institute for One Health (Germany)
I live in the feedback loop between data generation and analysis and biological interpretation. My main interests lie in how organisms interact to deal with and respond to environmental stresses, with a special focus on molecular physiology of beneficial inteactions between pro- and eukaryotes, the expressed molecular phenotype, i.e., the (meta)proteome, and plant functional ecology. With that, I am striving to understand the complex interactions and networks, which are the basis for the function of organisms and, eventually, ecosystems.
Smithsonian Institution (USA)
Claudia is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Smithsonian NMNH Department of Invertebrate Zoology. She has a broad interest in cnidarians species, and she especially focuses on the taxonomy, systematics, and evolution across deep time of azooxanthellate and deep-sea stony corals (Anthozoa, Scleractinia). For her postdoctoral project, she is applying integrative approaches that couples molecular genomics techniques and morphological observations to study the diversity and biogeography of corals – and their associates – in the Western Central Atlantic for the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities project in collaboration with NOAA.
Aix-Marseille University / IYSEB (France)
I work on the molecular ecology of marine species to study their evolution. My research topics include the study of connectivity among populations, the adaptation to different environments (especially depth), and the processes of speciation and hybridization. My main model organisms are Mediterranean anthozoans.
CNR IRBIM (Italy)
Université de Perpignan (France)
Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences BtBs – University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy)
My research focuses on integrative taxonomy, combining morphological and molecular approaches for species delimitation, invertebrate phylogeny and evolution, phylogenetic comparative methods to assess the mode and tempo of evolution and the contribution of morphological and ecological characters in organismal evolution, symbiotic systems and coevolutionary patterns. I am also interested in coral reef ecology and seafood traceability. More recently, I started integrating omics to study adaptive responses of organisms to urban environments.
