He holds a PhD in Biological Oceanography and a Masters in Biology (majors: Marine Zoology, Fisheries Biology and Marine Chemistry), both from the Institute of Marine Research, Kiel, Germany (now: Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research). His main research areas are phytoplankton communities and dynamics around seamounts and islands (taxonomy and ecology), potentially harmful benthic dinoflagellates (HAB) and marine ecology. He is an assistant professor at the University of Madeira, having extensive experience in undergraduate and postgraduate (master’s, doctoral) training. Between 2003 and 2009 he was a partner in the GAME (Global Approach by Modular Experiments) research and training project. He is an associate researcher at CIIMAR, University of Porto, one of the largest marine research centers in Portugal, and a member of the Madeira Ocean Observatory, which promotes marine and environmental research at a more local and regional level. He has integrated more than 10 international multidisciplinary oceanographic expeditions aboard research vessels totaling more than 260 days at sea to investigate the dynamics of phytoplankton communities around seamounts and islands. He also participated in the EU’s transnational PCT-MAC2007-2013 program, in the project GESMAR (Sustainable Management of Marine Resources 2010-2012) which investigated the ecological, geological and physical aspects of a zone colonized with seagrass in Madeira. Currently he participates in 3 INTERREG projects, 2 of the Macaronesian area, POC MAC 2014-2020, (REBECA and MIMAR) and 1 of the Atlantic Area (iFADO). He is also an experienced diver with more than 760 hours of scuba diving, in both saltwater and inland waters.