Hugo Ribeiro
Environmental Sciences Researcher
Projects
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2023- 2024
PIPELINE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF BIOLOGICAL NITRIFICATION INHIBITORS TO MITIGATE GHG EMISSIONS FROM CULTIVATED SOILS
The aim of the project is to create a pipeline from identification to commercial deployment of biological nitrification inhibitors (BNIs) to curb the microbial conversion of fertilizer nitrogen into greenhouse gases.
Position: Researcher
Institution: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly.
Main tasks performed: Cultivation of nitrifying microorganisms and the realization of bioassays to determine the inhibitory effect of BNIs. As well as the execution of soil microcosm experiments to determine the effect of BNIs in the soil microbial community, and determine the BNIs degradation and metabolism in the soil.
2021- 2022
OCEAN3R - REDUCE PRESSURES, RESTORE AND REGENERATE THE NW-PORTUGUESE OCEAN AND WATERS
The Ocean3R project aims to develop solutions to reduce anthropogenic pressures on marine and freshwater ecosystems, and to restore and regenerate degraded habitats along the NW-Portuguese coast.
Position: Researcher
Institution: CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Main tasks performed: Support and assisting/advising with critical and knowledgeable suggestions on the development of scientific and programmatic aspects of the project.
2019- 2022
BEACHSAFE: EMERGENT MICROBIAL POLLUTANTS IN BATHING WATERS
The BeachSafe project aims to contribute to the development of alert tools to fecal indicator bacteria in bathing waters and in a clinical context.
Position: Researcher
Institution: ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar
Main tasks performed: Support and assisting/advising with critical and knowledgeable suggestions on the development of scientific and programmatic aspects of the project.
2018- 2021
UNNOWN: UNDISCOVERED NITROGEN MICROORGANISMS FOR WASTEWATER INOCULATION
The UNNOWN project aims to contribute to a wider application of the anammox process in wastewater treatment to improve nitrogen removal efficiency by enlightening currently available technology with fundamental knowledge of Anammox ecology.
Position: Researcher
Institution: CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Main tasks performed: Involved in the enrichment of anammox bacteria, and characterization the community composition. Optimization of physiological parameters and link with anammox activity for application in wastewater treatment plants.
2017- 2019
SPILLESS: FIRST-LINE RESPONSE TO OIL SPILL BASED ON NATIVE MICROORGANISM COOPERATION
The SPILLESS project aims to tackle one of the most damaging sources of maritime pollution: oil spills. Will use native microbial consortia with bioremediation capacity, and the adaptation of unmanned autonomous vehicles for in-situ contamination combat.
Position: Team member - young scientist of the Blue Lab team
Institution: CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Main tasks performed: Support and assisting/advising with critical and knowledgeable suggestions on the development of scientific and programmatic aspects of the WP3 of the project.
2017- 2018
CORAL: SUSTAINABLE OCEAN EXPLOITATION: TOOLS AND SENSORS
The CORAL project aims to investigate and develop technological driven solutions to tackle deep sea resource exploitation under an environmentally sustainable framework, in addition to the development of sensor-based technology for marine or marine-related activities.
Position: Researcher
Institution: CIIMAR, under scientific supervision of Prof. Catarina Magalhães.
Main tasks performed: Support on the development and validation of a filtration system prototype through the accomplishment of experiments testing different variables of the process of filtration and efficiency and conservation of the DNA / RNA from Prokaryotes. Manuscript elaboration regarding the tasks performed.
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2016 - 2018
INNOVMAR - Research Line ECOSERVICES - Assessing the environmental quality, vulnerability and risks for the sustainable management of NW coast natural resources and ecosystem services
The ECOSERVICES aims to assess the environmental quality, vulnerability and risks for the sustainable management of the NW coast natural resources and ecosystem services in a changing world, and is aligned with one of the three main research lines of CIIMAR: Global Changes and Ecosystem Services.
Position: Collaborator
Institution: CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Main tasks performed: Investigate the effect of crude oil on denitrification and anammox pathways, and biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); and preparation of manuscripts (Ribeiro et al. 2016; 2018; 2019) in the scope of the project.
2016 - 2017
MARINEYE: A PROTOTYPE FOR MULTITROPHIC OCEANIC MONITORING
The MARINEYE project aimed at a new concept of Ocean observation. It is an autonomous system that integrates the different important compartments of our ocean by generating biological, physical and chemical data sets synchronized in time and space.
Position: Researcher
Institution: CIIMAR, under scientific supervision of Prof. Catarina Magalhães.
Main tasks performed: Support and assist the development and validation of an innovative multitrophic autonomous system with critical knowledge and laboratory work, particularly in tasks performed under the WP0, WP2, WP3, and WP4 of the project.
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2015
BIOMAR PT: LEARNING TO KNOW THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF PORTUGAL
BioMar.PT project aimed to provide training and qualification to perform continuous multidisciplinary monitoring, acquisition of technical skills for the application of standardized methods of processing and analyzing samples, as well as the processing and analysis of data.
Position: Team member/instructor
Institution: CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Main tasks performed: Training BSc, MSc, PhDs, post-docs, graduate students, and professionals in the application of standardized analytical methods to assess the concentration of contaminants in collected samples, as well as the analysis of data and making them available in an easy-to-understand way.
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2014 - 2015
ECORISK – ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF OILS AND HAZARDOUS AND NOXIOUS SUBSTANCES IN THE NW PORTUGUESE COAST
The ECORISK project aimed to carry out an ecological risk assessment of potential oil spills and other hazardous and noxious substances from accidents, which there is not in the Portuguese coast and in its own estuaries (Douro and Minho).
Position: Collaborator
Institution: CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Main tasks performed: Investigate the potential degradation of crude oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) investigate petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) within roots of salt marsh plants. Interpretation and discussion of results available, and writing manuscript (Ribeiro et al. 2015) in the scope of the project.
NITROTOX: INTERFERENCE OF METALS AND PAHs IN NITRATE REMOVAL BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES: DENITRIFICATION vs ANAMMOX
The NITROTOX project represents a comprehensive study on the possible effects of metals and PAHs on anammox and denitrification, and it has the scientific goal of providing a unique contribution to our understanding of the ecology of denitrification and anammox in systems impacted with metals and petroleum compounds.
Position: Researcher
Institution: CIIMAR, under scientific supervision of Prof. Catarina Magalhães.
Main tasks performed: Investigate the effect of crude oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) on denitrification and anammox pathways, by preparing microcosm and mesocosm laboratory experiments. Interpretation and discussion of results available in the scope of the project, and preparation of manuscripts.
2013
NITROSUL: NOVEL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MARINE BIOGEOCHEMICAL NITROGEN AND SULFUR CYCLES: CHARACTERIZATION AND ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
The NITROSUL project represents a valuable contribution to the study of the complex interactions between marine nitrogen and sulfur cycles, particularly the study of an inhibitory interaction between organic sulfur (DMSP) degradation compound and the reduction of N2O to N2 (last step of denitrification) in estuarine sediments.
Position: Researcher
Institution: CIIMAR, under scientific supervision of Prof. Catarina Magalhães.
Main tasks performed: Involved in intensive laboratory work (DNA extraction, PCR, sequencing). Involved in the integration, interpretation, discussion of results and preparation of manuscripts available in the scope of the project.
2010 - 2013
PHYTOBIO: PHYTOREMEDIATION AND BIOREMEDIATION OF CONTAMINANTS IN SALT MARSHES: PLANT - MICROORGANISMS INTERACTIONS
The PhytoBio project investigates the potential of plant-microorganisms associations that could, on one hand, improve metal phytoremediation capacities of the plant and, on the other hand, improve bioremediation of organic compounds, namely PAHs, by microorganisms in estuarine salt marshes.
Position: Team member
Institution: CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Main tasks performed: Investigate the potential degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) by preparing microcosm and mesocosm laboratory experiments with salt marsh plants, tasks also developed on the scope of the Ph.D. project.
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2009 - 2013
PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS BIOREMEDIATION IN A TEMPERATE SALT MARSH: PLANT - MICROORGANISMS INTERACTIONS
The Ph.D project represents an advanced postgraduate degree involving academic work during four years of independent research on an original topic aiming a significant original contribution to knowledge. This project was performed at Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences of University of Porto (ICBAS-UP).
Position: PhD student
Institution: ICBAS-UP, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Adriano Bordalo e Sá
Main tasks performed: Design research tasks with critical knowledge on the development of microcosm and mesocosm laboratory experiments with salt marsh plants to study plant assisted bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons. Manuscript preparation and submission to publication in Peer-reviewed international journals.
2007 - 2008
RACEWAYS: A HYPERINTENSIVE FISH FARMING CONCEPT FOR LASTING COMPETITIVENESS AND SUPERIOR PRODUCTION
Raceways project provided a scientific rationale for the establishment of a cost-effective rearing system (Shallow Raceway System) that significantly reduce the overall logistics needs with respect to buildings and water supply system and through its compactness and extended automation.
Position: Researcher
Institution: CIIMAR, under scientific supervision of Prof. Maria Teresa Borges.
Main tasks performed: Development and validation of a laboratory scale recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) to test an application developed in Lab-VIEW responsible for receiving information from physical-chemical data (water level, flow, oxygen, temperature, pH, ORP and CO2) through a hardware interface.
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ESTUDOS SOBRE NITRIFICAÇÃO EM BIOFILMES DE UM BIOFILTRO DO TIPO MBBR (MOVING BED BIOFILM REACTOR) OPERANDO EM ÁGUA SALGADA
The MSc project represents a postgraduate degree involving academic work during one year of research under scientific supervision on an original topic. This project focused on the study of nitrification occurring in an aquaculture biofilter and was performed at Sciences Faculty of University of Porto (FCUP).
Position: MSc student
Institution: FCUP, under scientific supervision of Prof. Maria Teresa Borges.
Main tasks performed: Support and participation in sampling campaigns in a turbot production system, including water and biofilter matrix sampling. Study of nitrification rates on microcosm laboratory experiments with biofilter matrix under different conditions.