MARE participates in CIÊNCIAS Research & Innovation Day 2025
MARE was present at CIÊNCIAS Research & Innovation Day 2025, promoted by the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (CIÊNCIAS). Participation included presentations, a wide range of posters, and the recognition of one of its researchers with the Research Merit Award. 
Held on 22 October under the theme ‘Unveiling the Unknown: Fundamental Research as the Gateway to Innovation’, CIÊNCIAS Research & Innovation Day 2025 brought together the CIÊNCIAS scientific community to celebrate research and innovation, promoting knowledge sharing between centres, researchers and students.
MARE-ULisboa was represented at the inauguration of the renovated Passeio da Ciência, a permanent exhibition space that showcases the 13 research centres and four scientific infrastructures associated with CIÊNCIAS. The coordinator of MARE-ULisboa, Ricardo Melo, presented the panels dedicated to the centre, while José Ricardo Paula highlighted the role of the Guia Maritime Laboratory in marine and coastal research:‘The LMG has a distinguishing feature: direct access to salt water, which is essential for us to study and model the oceans of today and tomorrow,’ said the researcher.
During the poster session, MARE/ARNET presented ten papers that reflected the diversity and scope of the research carried out at the centre, addressing topics such as marine behaviour and ecology, the response of phytoplankton and ecosystems to climate change, the use of eDNA and emerging environmental monitoring techniques, fish migration and ecology, marine spatial planning and coastal monitoring, with emphasis on the CoastNet infrastructure, as well as biological invasions, coral reef health, and the spread of contaminants and resistance genes in the ocean. This participation highlighted the thematic breadth and interdisciplinary nature of the research conducted at MARE, which integrates approaches ranging from molecular biology and ecology to the management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems.
One of the nine researchers honoured with the 2024 Research Merit Awards was Catarina Frazão Santos, from MARE/ARNET in SCIENCES, who received the Merit Award for Obtaining Funding for coordinating the PLAnT project – Planning for Sustainable Ocean Use in Antarctica under Global Environmental Change, funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
The event also included a tribute to Professor Margarida Santos-Reis, recognised for her contribution to the promotion of scientific research in SCIENCES, as well as a lecture by zoologist David Macdonald, from the University of Oxford, on the conservation and behaviour of badgers.
MARE's participation in this meeting once again reinforced its role as one of the main research centres at CIÊNCIAS, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and to collaborative, open science with an impact on society.
Text by Vera Sequeira and Joana Cardoso
Cover photo by CIÊNCIAS