Roberto Danovaro is nominated President of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (National Institute of Marine Biology Ecology and Biotechnology) from 2013 to 2022 by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR). Before that Mr. Danovaro was a Professor at the Polytechnic University of Marche. Director of the Department of Marine Sciences (2004 to 2010), Director of the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (2011 to 2014) at the Polytechnic University of Marche. Pro-Rector (Delegated to the Research) at the Polytechnic University of Marche (2010-2013). President of the Scientific Council of WWF Italy, Steering Board Member of OECD (Fostering Innovation in Ocean Economy). Member of the Scientific Council of several research institutions and panels (IUCN, UNEP, EU), editor in chief of international journals (Chemistry and Ecology – Taylor & Francis and Marine Ecology – Wiley) and coordinator of several EU and international programs. President of the Italian Society of Ecology (2011-2013), and of the Italian Society of Limnology and Oceanography (2008-2011). President of the European Federation of Scientific Technological Societies (2008-2012). Member of the Academia Europaea (European Academy of Science) and of EU Academy of Sciences (EUAS). Roberto Danovaro received the World Prize BMC Biology (London, 2010), the Award of French Society of Oceanography (2011), and the ENI Award “Protection of the Environment” (2013). In December 2020 has been recognised by ExpertScape as the top World Scientist in the Category “Ocean and Seas” in the decade 2010-2020.

Rob Finn is the Lead of the Microbiome Informatics team at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute. This team produces MGnify, a world leading resource for the functional and taxonomic analysis and archiving of microbiome derived sequence data. In addition to making large numbers of datasets available that have been processed in a systematic way, the resource allows scientists to upload their own data, either privately or publicly, and assemble and analyse their data. The MGnify resource contains one of the largest public collections of assembled metagenomes, which have been used to derive billions of proteins. In the past year, MGnify has also started to produce biome-specific catalogues of metagenome assembled genomes, derived from the aforementioned assemblies and community contributions. Collectively, these are providing new insights into the microbial diversity found in a range of environments.

Maria Lucas is the Co-founder and CEO at Zymvol, Maria holds a PhD in Quantum Chemistry. She has over 8 years of experience in management and 9 years prior experience working as a senior researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. EU Women Innovators prize in 2020.

Jörn Piel received a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Bonn, Germany, and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Washington, Seattle. Subsequently, he was Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, and Associate Professor of Bioorganic Chemistry at the University of Bonn. In 2013 he became Full Professor of Microbiology at ETH Zurich. Research of the lab focuses on natural products from uncultivated and other poorly explored bacteria, their role in host-microbe interactions, the identification and utilization of new biosynthetic enzymology, and ecology- and genome-based methods of natural product discovery.

Erik Selander is associate professor in marine sciences, University of Gothenburg. His research focus on chemical sensing and signaling in marine plankton. Eriks group pioneered the identification of alarm signals from zooplankton, copepods, that induce defensive traits in phytoplankton prey organisms including toxin production in notorious harmful algal bloom forming organisms. He is the author of approximately 50 publications on chemical interactions in marine plankton.

Ida is a professor at University of Bergen, Department of Biological Sciences. The overall theme in mher research is to understand the ecology and physiology of microorganisms living in deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems by the use of culturing, molecular biology and biochemistry. She has since 2007 studied microbial communities in the hydrothermal vents located on the Arctic Mid-Ocean and she is currently leading the research theme “Bioresources” in the Centre for Deep Sea Research.