Rodrigo Mendes

ESR 1

My name is Rodrigo Mendes and I am from Portugal. During my school years, I gained a major interest in the ocean and marine life, which made me pursue a Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology, which I obtained at the University of Algarve (Portugal) in 2018. During my course, I also undertook my first Erasmus programme at the University College Cork (Ireland). Given that it was the first time I lived outside my home country for several months, it was a highly rewarding experience, which increased my enthusiasm for living abroad. After three years learning throughout the Bachelor, I realised that my focus should become an aquaculturist, as I understood that aquaculture could represent one of the most viable environmental and social sustainable solutions to feed the world population in the future. With this goal in mind, I wanted to expand my knowledge about the topic and eventually become involved in the industry.

In this sense, I enrolled on the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Aquaculture, Environment and Society (ACES+) which took place at four universities: the Scottish Association for Marine Sciences (Scotland), University of Crete (Greece), University of Nantes (France) and Radboud University (the Netherlands). My thesis was about how the use of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and immunostimulants could be used as dietary supplements to positively manipulate the microbiota present in the gut, skin and gill of farmed fish species. During my masters, I also became involved with ONG’s and societies about marine environmental awareness and aquaculture, which made me become a member of the Ocean Hub Portugal and European Aquaculture Society, for which I also became National Coordinator for Portugal.

During and after concluding the master, I felt that I needed some “hands on-experience” on the field. Thus, I completed two internships, at the University of Crete and Porto (Portugal), related with fish quality, skeletal deformities and histology regarding some finfish species, such as Senegalese sole, European seabass, gilthead seabream and zebrafish. After that, I worked at SPAROS Lda. (Portugal), a company that produces feed for aquaculture species, helping in the development of the software “FEEDNETICS” used to evaluate the effects of different nutritional and environmental conditions on fish farm production.

After my national and international experiences, I realised that the development of aquaculture could be hampered by the sustainability of feed used and susceptibility to diseases, which made me engage in a new challenge. Currently, I am a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow enrolled in the easyTRAIN European Industrial Doctorate in cooperation with the University of Murcia (Spain), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal), Centre of Marine Sciences (Portugal) and SPAROS Lda. (Portugal). The involvement of all partner organizations on this project, together with their high-quality infrastructures and brilliant research groups, make me motivated and provide me with the essential tools to achieve my professional goals.

I will design and formulate new sustainable diets based on plant and microalgae sources, such as quinoa and spirulina, respectively, which will be fed to two highly relevant aquaculture species - Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Then I will investigate fish preferences towards the diets and assess how they affect health, performance, nutrient waste and carbon footprint. I hope that with this PhD I will generate new scientific knowledge about fish nutrition, physiology, immunology and health, as well as provide relevant contributions to develop aquaculture environmental and biological sustainability.

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François Husson

ESR 2

My name is François Husson, I am from Belgium and I have always been passionate about fish, plants and Science in general. I did my Bachelor in Earth and Ocean Science at the Free University of Brussels (Belgium), then I took a Master in Marine Biology at the University of the French Riviera (France). During my Master's, I started to develop a special interest for aquaculture and its potential to contribute to food security in a sustainable way. For this reason, I took another Master in Sustainable Aquaculture at the University of Stirling (UK).

During my studies, I had the opportunity to work on a broad range of issues and I developed a profound understanding of the intricacies between our society and the environment. Because of that, I wanted to find a work that would combine these different aspects. I was introduced to the easyTRAIN programme by one of my professors at Stirling University. This ambitious project directly aroused my interest, I particularly liked the fact that it was an industrial project, allowing us to grow in both the academic and the industrial world.

I truly appreciate my team in Tilamur (the company for which I am working for) and the support I get from the academic team at University the University of Ferrara. My main objective is to synchronise fish and plant biological rhythms in aquaponic systems. I really look forward to my secondment at the University of Ferrara, which will give me the chance to take my career to an international level.

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Sarah Perché

ESR 3

My name is Sarah Perché. I was born in France, where I studied up to a Bachelor in Ecology and organism’s Biology. Thanks to an internship at the Oceanography laboratory of Villefranche-sur-mer during my Bachelor, I decided to focus on Marine Biology.

Therefore, I continued my studies with an international master EMBC+ in Marine Biodiversity and conservation (2016-2018). I had the opportunity to study in Portugal, Spain and Belgium. Along those years, I realised my interest toward the industry related to the sea: the fisheries and the Aquaculture fields.

Afterwards, I improved my knowledge and skills by going to Denmark to join the Master’s in Aquatic Sciences and Technology. I had the great fortune to meet passionate teachers about Aquaculture and to join different projects within both the research department of the university and the Aquaculture industry.

Currently, I am involved in the ITN easyTRAIN at the University of Murcia in Spain and in collaboration with the company Landing Aquaculture B.V. in the Netherlands. I applied to this industrial PhD programme, because I believe in the importance of applied Science to the industrial need and that this international context will allow me to grow professionally. My project is looking within a circular Economy view to the valorisation of Marine Aquaculture effluents by microalgae.

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Essi Ruohisto

ESR 4

I am from Turku, Finland, where I did my BSc studies in Biochemistry at the University of Turku. Alongside my studies, I worked as a laboratory assistant at the unit of Molecular Plant Biology in a group which focused on studying the photosynthetic reactions in cyanobacteria. I found the world of photosynthesis completely mesmerizing and ended up completing my MSc degree within the same field of study. I got very impressed by cyanobacteria, one of the oldest groups of organisms on the planet.

Today I am lucky to be part of the easyTRAIN consortium where I continue working with photosynthetic organisms. The focus of my project is in enhancing microalgae production by modifying their growth environment, particularly the growth light quantity and quality. The main interest of my project is in finding optimal growth conditions to produce different high-value molecules and compounds in microalgae for the purpose of e.g. aquaculture feed production.

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Santiago Pintos

ESR 5

My name is Santiago Pintos and I am from Argentina. Understanding nature has always been a fascinating challenge for me, the reason why I decided to study Biological Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. In 2018, I obtained my bachelor’s degree specializing in Neurosciences with a research thesis on fish behaviour.

After my graduation, I wanted to expand my area of knowledge into an applied field of sciences and I fortunately got a postgraduate fellowship in 2021 to study a master’s degree in Aquaculture at the University of Murcia. This experience gave me insights into aquaculture challenges and encouraged me to pursue my research career in Animal Welfare.

ACurrently, I am a Ph.D. student in the easyTRAIN Innovative Training Network in a project focused on assessing fish welfare in aquaponics and aquaculture systems and its improvement through new plant-based diets. This PhD project involves stays at the University of Ferrara (Italy) and the University of Murcia (Spain) in addition to secondments at industrial partners in Portugal (Sparos LDA) and Spain (Tilamur). I am pleased to be part of this industrial doctorate which proposes short-term applications in the main challenge that society will face during the coming years: producing food in a sustainable way.

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Francesca Conti

ESR 6

My name is Francesca Conti and I come from a small town near Venice, Italy. Since I was a child, I have always felt at ease in nature and had a great passion for animals. Therefore, my love for the outdoors combined with my curiosity attracted me to the field of Biology.

Ever since I decided to study it, I have always wanted to work in the environmental field which is why I opted to study for a master’s degree in Biomolecular and Evolutionary Sciences, with a focus on Biodiversity and Evolution.

Currently, I am involved in the EASYTRAIN ‘Eco-Innovative Aquaculture System Training’ for European Industrial Doctorates project, and I will have the opportunity to collaborate with several partners, exploring both academic and company realities and expanding my experience in the field of scientific research. Specifically, I will study the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in fish food intake control and investigate the impact of environmental cycles on fish production.

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