Professor James Houghton is Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He has also served as a Governor of the University and a Senator of the National University of Ireland

A human geneticist by training, he was appointed Head of the Clinical Cytogenetics Unit at NUI, Galway; Head of the Department of Microbiology; Head of the School of Natural Sciences and Director of Quality of the University. In 1994, Professor Houghton was appointed Director of the National Diagnostics Centre of BioResearch Ireland. BioResearch Ireland was a Government-funded organization established to provide contract research and research services to Irish and International industry. The NDC hasd a staff of specialist researchers in DNA Diagnostics, Immunodiagnostics and Molecular Biology and carried out a wide range of contract research studies for the biotechnology and the health industry.

Professor Houghton has been awarded several national and international Fellowships and Prizes including the Conway Medal by the Royal Academy of Medicine if Ireland and the Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence.

Professor Houghton has been actively involved in research ethics for over 15 years and regularly participates as Chair or Panel Member, in Ethics Assessments, Ethics Checks and Audits on behalf of the European Commission, ERC and IMI as well as national and international research funding bodies. He is a member of several Ethics Boards and acts as an independent Ethics Advisor on a range of Commission-supported projects.

In recent years, Professor Houghton has served as Chair of several European Commission Working Groups involved in the drawing up of Ethics Guidance Documents for FP7- and H2020-funded research. For example: “How to complete your ethics Self Assessment” and “Guidance Note on Research on refugees, & migrants”.

Professor Houghton has published over 260 scientific papers and articles in the fields of microbiology, biotechnology, human genetics and cytogenetics, fertility and reproduction, and ethics.

Radoslav Považan is an expert on biodiversity and ecosystem services currently working for Slovak Environment Agency. He holds Master's degrees in Environmental Ecology and Teaching (Biology - Ecology). In 2011 he graduated in the field of Management of protected areas at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. In 2015 he earned PhD in the field of Synecology. In the past, he worked at the State Nature Conservation of the Slovak Republic. As a member of NGO PRONATUR, he dealt with several projects focusing on natural services, nature based solutions, public awareness raising through public engagement activities. He acted as a project manager of the Transition to the Green Economy project (Horizon 2020 Programme).

Paola Mariani holds BSc summa cum laude in Animal Science, at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, Italy, Ph.Sc. in Molecular Genetics, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden, Ph.D. in Animal Genetics, at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, Italy. Currently Bioeconomy Programme Manager, in charge of research activities aiming at setting microalgae based bioremediation systems and the exploitation of agri-food waste and by-products as raw materials for novel bio-processes, with special reference to microbial based processes. Previously in charge of metagenomics and metatranscriptomics studies regarding host/pathogen interaction, mainly aiming at identifying diagnostic and treatment targets. Her group has established universal DNA based diagnostic assays, and created microbial, DNAseq, and RNAseq datasets and bio-repositories. She filed for two patents (PCT/EP2009/056219, PCT/IB2009/052810)

Professor of Chemical Engineering
Dept. Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering
University of Jaén, Spain

His research activity has focused, on the use of biomass as a source of energy and chemical products under the biorefinery concept, including the biomass derived from the olive grove and the olive oil production process, sunflower stems, rape straw, etc. Also the production and characterization of new materials including agro-industrial waste formulation.

He has participated in near 40 competitive projects and contracts with companies and organisations. In the last 10 years, Elogio Castro has coauthored 70 articles in scientific JCR-journals (h index 28, citations >2,200), more than 100 communications to international congresses and a patent for the application of biomass ash in the production of ceramic products.

The internationalisation of research activities resulted in collaborations with universities or centers in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay, Portugal, India, Italy, Germany, Holland or Hungary, among others.

Prof. Artur Bartkowiak (Ph.D., D.Sc.), a graduate of the Technical University of Szczecin (major: polymer technology, biopolymer processing, packaging). Currently director of the Center of Bioimmobilisation and Innovative Packaging Materials, Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin. In 1997-2000 he worked at the University of Technology in Lausanne as expert in field of novel materials for microencapsulation. He is responsible for various R&D activities of CBIMO based on funds from external projects and commissioned work carried out with business partners (coordinator and participant of a total of more than 40 national and international projects including national programs, Structural Funds and the EU Framework Programmes). Successful cooperation with over 70 business partners (R&D studies, vouchers for innovations, opinions/technology audits, industrial implementations). He is one of the initiators of Natureef association, which brings together business partners within the value chain of bioeconomy sectors; originator and coordinator of new project related to creation of Regional Pilot Plant of Bioproducts in West Pomeranian region.