Prof. Michael Berumen received a Zoology degree from the University of Arkansas in 2001. He then attended James Cook University in Australia to pursue graduate studies in coral reef ecology, specializing in life history and ecology of butterflyfishes. He was awarded the PhD in 2007. Mike accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he focused on larval connectivity in coral reef fishes. During his time in Woods Hole, Mike began working in the Red Sea in 2008 in partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Mike joined KAUST in July 2009 as a founding faculty member in the Red Sea Research Center. Mike has authored more than 360 peer-reviewed articles and 11 book chapters, and he has co-written or edited three books. The research of his group, the Reef Ecology Lab, focuses on advancing general understanding of Red Sea coral reefs and more broadly making contributions to movement ecology, which is a critical aspect of developing conservation plans in the marine environment. He is particularly interested in connectivity questions ranging from larval dispersal to large distance migrations of adult fishes. His team actively works to understand Red Sea biodiversity and has described several new species. His contributions to marine science have been recognized as a Fellow of the International Coral Reef Society and as a Distinguished Alumni from James Cook University.

Dr. Roberto Abdala earned a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry with a specialization in
Radiochemistry, followed by a Master of Science degree in July 1985 from the
University of Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 1989, he completed advanced training as an
expert for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Radiation Protection and
Nuclear Safety at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1997, he began his doctoral studies at the University of Malaga, where he was
awarded a PhD in Biological Sciences in September 2001. That same year, he
completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Playa Unión Photobiology Station in Chubut,
Argentina.
Since joining the University of Malaga, Dr. Abdala has actively contributed to
numerous research projects. He is currently a professor in the Department of Ecology at
the same institution. From the outset of his career, he has demonstrated a strong
commitment to both teaching and research. Since 2010, he has been involved in the
Master’s Program in Advanced Biotechnology and the PhD Program in Advanced
Biotechnology at the University of Malaga. He has supervised ten doctoral theses and
maintains active international collaborations with several universities, including the
State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); the Universities of Concepción, Católica del
Norte, and Tarapacá (Chile); the University of Baja California and CICESE (Mexico);
and Incheon University (South Korea).
Dr. Abdala was a member of the board of directors of the European Society for Marine
Biotechnology and organized the European Congress on Marine Biotechnology in
November 2023 in Malaga, Spain. He has authored over 105 scientific articles
published in peer-reviewed, JCR-indexed journals, as well as eight book chapters. His
current research focuses on the chemistry of marine natural products, particularly algae
with antitumor, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties, aimed at applications as
nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals in the biotechnology sector. He also leads research
into alternative sources of protein for animal feed and explores the bioremediation of
agricultural and industrial effluents to advance algal biotechnology.
He has participated in European projects such as the SABANA project and is currently
the principal investigator of the ALFIL project, which aims to fully replace fishmeal
and fish oil with unconventional sources of protein and lipids. This initiative is funded
by the European Union under the Next Generation 2025 program.