Carlos Pinheiro

BSc in Biology, University of Aveiro | MSc in Applied Biology, University of Aveiro, with specialization in Toxicology and Ecotoxicology

Originally from Amarante, I completed a degree in Biology at University of Aveiro (4 years). In 2009, I have joined to the Laboratory of Ecotoxicology Genomics and Evolution (LEGE) research group, nowadays designated as Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology (BBE), to do my academic internship (1 year) focused on the “Effects of cyanobacterial extracts and pure toxins on the growth of microalgae”, under the supervision of the Doctor Vitor Vasconcelos (BBE) and Doctor Susana Loureiro (CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro). During the internship, I had the opportunity to work with cyanobacterial strains, their cyanotoxins (namely, microcystin-LR and cylindrospermopsin) and possible implications to the aquatic environment. With this internship, my research interest in toxins produced by cyanobacteria and their impact in aquatic environmental health had grown and, therefore, in 2010 I decided to continue in this research area and initiate my master thesis intitled as “Joint toxicity effects of cyanotoxins and chemical compounds”, focused on binary chemical mixtures between cyanotoxins and naturally occurring chemicals such as metals and pesticides. In 2012, I completed my master’s degree in Applied Biology (2 years), with specialization in Toxicology and Ecotoxicology, under the supervision of the Doctor Vitor Vasconcelos (BBE) and Doctor Susana Loureiro (CESAM & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro). Currently, I am working as a technician on Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology – Culture Collection (LEGE-CC) giving technical support on the maintenance and development of the collection by isolating and identifying new strains of microalgae and cyanobacteria using molecular tools.