Dr. Antonio Di Franco is a Senior Researcher at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn and a marine ecologist specializing in marine conservation, fisheries ecology, and coastal socio-ecological systems. His research focuses on ecological effectiveness, governance, and management of marine protected areas (MPAs), as well as connectivity and dispersal processes in marine populations. He also integrates human dimensions into marine conservation, including stakeholder perceptions, resource use, and socio-ecological interactions, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean Sea.

Over his career, he has coordinated and contributed to numerous international projects examining the impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems and the role of MPAs in biodiversity conservation and fisheries management. His work integrates field-based research, quantitative ecology, and applied conservation science to inform evidence-based marine policy and ecosystem-based management.

He has played leading roles in Mediterranean initiatives on MPA networks, spillover effects, and small-scale fisheries sustainability. His research has advanced understanding of fish population dynamics, larval connectivity, and the links between ecological and social components of coastal systems, contributing to the integration of marine science, conservation practice, and environmental governance.

Former Director of the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, actual Vice Rector for Research, Francesco Regoli is a marine ecotoxicologist and full professor at the Università Politecnica delle Marche, in Ancona, Italy. Over the past decades, he has established himself as one of the leading international researchers in the fields of marine pollution, oxidative stress, and biomarker-based environmental assessment. His scientific work has focused on understanding the effects of contaminants such as trace metals, hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and other emerging pollutants on marine organisms and coastal ecosystems. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining molecular and cellular biology, physiology, and ecotoxicology, he has significantly contributed to the development of effect-based methodologies used worldwide in environmental monitoring and ecological risk assessment.

Francesco has authored hundreds of scientific publications, and since 2022 he is included in the Highly Cited Researchers, representing the top 1% of the most influential scientists in their field worldwide. He has coordinated numerous European research projects focused on marine conservation, climate change, and contaminant impacts on aquatic ecosystems, in addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief of Marine Environmental Research, thereby playing a major role in advancing modern ecotoxicological research and scientific communication in marine sciences.

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. Member of the Scientific Council of the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) – Natural and Environmental Sciences. Member of Scientific Council of the National Natural History Museum of France. Director of the Group of Blue Biotechnology and Health of CIIMAR. Main research focus on cyanobacteria secondary metabolites and their uses: toxins and molecules with biotechnological applications. Responsible for the LEGE culture collection with more than 2000 strains of cyanobacteria and microalgae. Director of the Doctoral Program in Marine Biotechnology and Aquaculture (U Porto and U Minho). Project evaluator of the Innovation Agency and various international research funding institutions.

Thomas Wernberg is a Danish-born marine ecologist internationally recognized for his research on kelp forests, marine climate change, and coastal ecosystem resilience. He is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Professor of Marine Botany at The University of Western Australia, where he studies the impacts of ocean warming and marine heatwaves on temperate reef ecosystems and macroalgal habitats worldwide. His work has greatly advanced the understanding of biodiversity loss and climate-driven changes in coastal marine systems.

Throughout his career, Prof. Wernberg has contributed extensively to marine conservation and climate science through international collaborations and high-impact scientific publications. He is particularly known for documenting the ecological impacts of the 2010–2011 marine heatwave in Western Australia, which caused widespread kelp forest decline, while also developing research on ecosystem restoration, kelp forest recovery, blue carbon conservation and ecosystem services from kelp forests.