/MEET THE TEAM

We are a team committed to preserving

the wonders of the ocean.

Meet the dedicated experts of BEM Lab, united by a passion for marine conservation. Explore their diverse skills and perspectives driving innovative solutions to safeguard our oceans' biodiversity.

Principal Investigator

Susana Carvalho

Associate Professor of Practice of Marine Science

Research Interests: Marine Ecology, Biodiversity, Functional Ecology, Non-Indigenous Species (NIS), Effects of Marine Pollution, Marine Ecosystems, eDNA

Research Scientists

Eva Aylagas Martinez

Research Scientist

Research Interests: Marine Biodiversity, Coral Reefs, Environmental DNA, Bioinvasions, Marine Monitoring

Research Staff

João Cúrdia

Research Specialist

Research Interests: Bacterial Ecology, Zoology, Ecology of Macrobenthic Communities, Succession in Ecology, Data Analysis of Biological Datasets, Marine Biodiversity

Karla Gonzalez

Research Specialist

Research Interests: Coral Reefs, Coral Bleaching, Marine Ecology, Benthic Communities

Doaa Baker

Research Specialist

Research Interests: Environmental Microbiology, TOC, DOC, Molecular Biology, Biodiversity, eDNA

Vijayalaxmi Dasari

Research Specialist

Research Interests: Analysis, Heavy metals, Green sea turtles, Effects of Marine Pollution

Dylan Cottrell

Research Specialist

Research Interests: Facilitation, Multiple Stressors, Stress Gradients, Biodiversity, Seagrass, Community Ecology, Climate Change, Succession, Marine Restoration, Scientific Communication

Ronald Cadiz

Research Integration Analyst

Research Interests: ARMS, Non-Indigenous Species (NIS), Environmental Management, Canthigaster Margaritata, Seagrass, Coral Reef Cryptobiome, Stylophora Pistillata

Postdoctoral Fellows

Imke M. Böök

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: Ecophysiology, Global Change, Ecotoxicology, Carbonate Chemistry, Bioerosion

Angelo Poliseno

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: Anthozoa, Biodiversity, eDNA, Mitogenomics, Molecular Ecology, Phylogenetics, Taxonomy

Juan Sempere-Valverde

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: Coastal Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Artificial Structures, Invasive Species, Marine Restoration, Climate Resilience

Marcos A. L. Teixeira

Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests: Polychaeta, Cryptic Species, Taxonomy, DNA Barcoding, Molecular Ecology

Ph.D. Students

Sofía Ruiz de Velasco

PhD student

Research Interests: Bryozoans, Fouling, Port Environments, Non-Indigenous Species (NIS)

Gloria Gil

PhD student

Research Interests: Biodiversity, Coral Reefs, Microbial Ecology, Bacterial Ecology, Anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, eDNA, Metabarcoding

Louis Simon

PhD student

Joao Gabriel Duarte Rosado

PhD Student

Research Interests: Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Marine Ecology, Metabarcoding, Microbiology, Reef Restoration

Micaela Justo

PhD Student

Research Interests: Anthropogenic actions, Reef organisms, Organics, Metals, Stress oxidative, Stress, Changes

Master Students

Sofia Walzer

MS Student

Research Interests: Marine Ecology, Biodiversity, Ecotoxicology, Marine Conservation, Ecosystem Management

Visiting Researchers

Sahar Chebaane

Visiting Researcher

Research Interests: Invasive Species, Non-Indigenous Species (NIS), Coastal Areas

Vitaly Semin

Visiting Researcher

Research Interests: Polychaeta, Arctic, Antarctic, Red Sea, Synecology, Vertical distribution, Non-Indigenous Species (NIS)