Dr Ruth Garcia Gomez (Chair)
Dr Garcia Gomez works at the Secretariat of Pacific Community (SPC). She graduated in Veterinary Science-Animal Husbandry from the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, with a specialisation in Aquaculture Science and completed her PhD in the Veterinary Science Branch-Aquatic Animal Health Department at the same University. Dr Garcia Gomez obtained a Masters degree in International Development Strategies, Agents and Policies from the Basque Country University of HEGOA, in 2006. Since 2001, Dr Garcia Gomez has worked in Africa (Uganda, RDC), Asia (Vietnam and Cambodia), the Maghreb (Morocco and Egypt), Latin America (Ecuador and Colombia) and Europe (Spain and France), in the fields of aquaculture production, aquatic animal health, aquatic biosecurity and aquatic genetic resources management, both in cooperation for development and research projects. Before joining the SPC, Dr Garcia Gomez worked as Aquaculture Officer within the Aquaculture Section of the FAO Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Professor Malcolm Beveridge
Professor Beveridge recently retired from science management posts with the FAO and WorldFish. He maintains research interests in aquatic sciences, development and climate change. Professor Beveridge currently works as a consultant and is a Board of Trustees member with various charities, as well as serving on Science Advisory Boards for various multi-centre, international research projects and programmes.
Patricia Bianchi
Patricia Bianchi is the Seaweed Account Manager of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and the Marine Stewardship Council. Her role is central to managing the ASC-MSC Seaweed Certification Program. Patricia supports the development and implementation of the seaweed standard, and supports seaweed research, stakeholder engagement and management activities. Patricia also develops capacity building programs on seaweed certification in America, Europe and Asia. Prior to taking up his post in 2017, she worked at the Marine Stewardship Council as a Senior Policy Manager where she supported the fisheries and chain of custody standard and certification process development. Patricia has focused her career on market-based approaches such as certification and eco-labelling in achieving sustainable fisheries. She has studied in the University of Wageningen and holds a MSc in Environmental Science, and a BSc in biology from the University of Uruguay. Patricia has worked in social and environmental compliance and international organisations for more than 10 years.
Dr Melba Bondad-Reantaso
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Debbie Harding
UK Research and Innovation
Professor Gwang Hoon Kim
Professor Gwang Hoon Kim is a cell biologist at Kongju National University, South Korea, who does research in a broad range of issues related to processes of cell signaling, sexual differentiation, cell-cell recognition, stress responses of algal cells, protein isolation and characterization. His scientific expertise also includes seaweed aquaculture and algal breeding using combined methods of mutation breeding and algal proteomics and genomics. His name appears on more than 156 peer-reviewed scientific papers. His laboratory has been chosen as a National Research Laboratory (NRL) of Korea. He is Director of the Institute of Biotechnology at Kongju National University from 2006. He is currently serving as a Dean (college of natural sciences) in Kongju National University. Over the years of work at KNU, 67 Ms.D. and 13 Ph.D. students have defended dissertations in Professor Gwang Hoon Kim’s laboratory under his direct supervision. Currently, 3 post-docs and 11 graduate students are working in his laboratory.Family
Shona Hutchison
International Flavors and Fragrances Inc.
Professor Gill Malin
Professor Malin is currently a Reader in Biological Oceanography, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia (UEA). Beyond the UEA, she is President Elect for the British Phycological Society and a member of the Phycological Society of America Grants and Awards Committee. Professor Malin’s interests in the sustainable production and exploitation of seaweeds and microalgae are reflected in her chairing the British Phycological Society Algal Applications Committee and being an active participant in the NERC and Technology Strategy Board Algal Bioenergy Special Interest Group.
Professor Michael Roberts
Professor Michael Roberts holds a UK-SA Bilateral Research Chair between the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the University of Southampton (UoS) in the UK and the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The Chair is co-funded through the UK Newton Fund and the National Research Foundation (NRF), and is focused on Ocean Science and marine Food Security in the Western Indian Ocean. Professor Roberts has over 30 years of experience doing oceanographic and marine ecosystem functioning research in this region covering coastal, slope and deep ocean domains. He has led 6 large international multi-disciplinary, ship-intensive, research projects in the WIO and is well connected to regional and international researchers and institutions. A fundamental component of the Chair is to grow research capacity in the region using an “Innovation Bridge” approach between NOC, UoS and major research institutions in the Western Indian Ocean.