PROGRAM | My Site 8

4 main topics

Day 1: Marine Bioprospecting and Funding Opportunity

The first day will focus on systematic and multidisciplinary approaches to find biocompatible components, bioactive compounds with possible applications for human health and well-being, gene clusters of biosynthetic pathways and innovative ecosustainable processes for industry. Starting point of the discovery process is usually represented by sampling and isolation of marine organisms, like bacteria, fungi, viruses, microalgae, sea plants, shellfish, corals, sponges and other marine organisms. Relevant areas of potential applications may include medicine, processing industries, food, feed, and agriculture. Then, the discussion will include a talk on the funding possibilities, research infrastructures and technology transfer. During the afternoon practical section, students will acquire essential knowledge on bioinformatic tools useful for the genome mining process.

Day 2: Environmental biotechnology and Waste Valorization

Human activities produce a detrimental impact on the marine environment. Innovative bioremediation methodologies will be presented during the last day, focusing on the use of marine organisms for the reduction of most harmful contaminants and restoration of polluted marine environments. In addition, examples of biotechnological exploitation of marine waste will also be presented, through the development of sustainable protocols and innovative technologies for the extraction and use of biomaterials, with a significantly reduced impact on the environment and economy. At the same time the discussion will focus on the importance of the development of the circular economy, aimed at the use of discarded and underutilised biomass, which allows to achieve the “European Zero Waste Strategy".

Day 3: Meet the Companies

The pipeline from research to commercialisation of marine products is often presumed to be long-term, costly and demanding on business expertise. International speakers from biotechnology industries will illustrate how innovative methodologies are attempting to reduce time, augmenting success rate. Ecosustainable and rapid processes for the discovery and production of new marine-inspired pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and functional cosmetics will be the main topic of the second day. Purified marine products and complex mixtures of bioactive compounds can be used for the creation of innovative products, for the prevention of common diseases and the reduction of the natural ageing process. Platforms for the identification of bioactivity, optimization of biomass production and prototyping of marine derived commercial products are the main issues of this research field. Moreover, all participants will have the chance to present their research and results through poster presentations, while selected abstract will be chosen for short talk presentations. During the afternoon, all participants will visit the Arterra Bioscience, a biotech company founded in Napoli twenty years ago with the aim of developing technologies and innovative marine-inspired solutions that find application in various industrial sectors.

Day 4: EUREMAP: how a consortium can optimise marine bioprospecting pipeline

The EUREMAP consortium endeavors to optimise Europe's marine bioprospecting pipeline, leveraging European Research Infrastructures (RIs) including EU-OPENSCREEN, EMBRC, and ELIXIR. This integration aims to enhance competitiveness in marine natural products discovery for drug development and bolster the blue bioeconomy. EUREMAP will establish a novel trans-RI integrated service, supporting the discovery of bioactive compounds from marine organisms through innovative technology, thereby strengthening the capacity of European RIs and fostering collaboration across academia and industry in the multidisciplinary field of marine biotechnology.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

1 October 2024 (Location: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli)

Day 1: Marine Bioprospecting and Funding Opportunity

9.00 – 9.45 Registration

Session Chairs: Daniela Coppola and Christian Galasso

9.45-10.00 Welcome by the Organising Committee and description of the Summer School events

10.00 – 11.00 Ernesto Mollo (The Potential of Chemical Ecology to Explore Marine Biodiversity for Biotechnology applications)

11.00 – 11.30 Chiara Lauritano (Drugs from the sea)

11.30 – 12.00 Coffee break

12.00 – 12.30 Tiago Silva (European Society of Marine biotechnology)

12.30 – 13.00 Christian Galasso (Bioactive pigments from the sea for cosmeceuticals and

nutraceuticals)

13.00 – 13.30 Fortunato Palma Esposito (Funding opportunities and European Infrastructures)

13.30 – 15.00 Lunch

Practical Session

15.00 – 17.00 Genome mining (Pietro Tedesco and Gerardo Della Sala)

Social event (Not included in the registration fee)

18.30 Visit to the Castello dell’Ovo and aperitif

2 October 2024 (Location: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli)

Day 2: Environmental biotechnology and Waste Valorization

Session chairs: Christian Galasso and Chiara Lauritano

9.00 – 9.40 Davide Seveso (Coral response to marine stressors: possible cell targets for biotechnological restoration)

9.40 – 10.10 Laura Vitale (Biotechnological potential of marine bacteria in bioremediation and biomining)

10.10 – 10.40 Daniela Coppola (Fishing waste for market WASTE2TASTE Project)

10.40 – 11.10 Emanuela Esposito (Marine algae as potential therapeutics to decrease inflammation and oxidative stress in human disorders)

11.10 – 13.00 Visit to Museum Darwin Dohrn+Acquarium

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

“Visit to the Company” Session

14.00-15.00 transfer to Arterra Bioscience

15.00 – 16.30 Visit to Arterra Bioscience (https://arterrabio.it/; transfer by local bus)

Social event (Not included in the registration fee)

19.00 Social dinner (Muu Mozzarella via partenope 18)

3 October 2024 (Location: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Via Acton 55, Napoli)

Day 3: Meet the Companies

Session Chairs: Daniela Coppola and Chiara Lauritano

9.00-9.15 Antonella Penna (Italian Society of Marine Biology)

9.15 –10.15 Paolo Galli (Marhe Center, Infrastructure for tropical studies and coral restoration)

10.15 – 11.15 TETIS (Emre Yemisken - Unlocking Hidden Value in Marine By-Product)

11.15 – 11.45 Coffee break

11.45 – 12.15 Biosearch (Giovanna Romano - Marine-derived formulations for cosmeceutical industry)

12.15 – 13.00 MATERIAS (Prof Nicolais Luigi - Turning your ideas into sustainable innovation)

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

14.00 – 15.00 Pharma Mar (Fernando de la Calle - Research and development from the sea to discover molecules with antitumor activity)

15.00 – 16.30 Short oral presentation by students

16.30 - 17.30 Visit to the Department of Eco-sustainable Marine Biotechnology

Social event (Not included in the registration fee)

18.30 Walk for the streets of historical centre of Napoli and Pizza

4 October 2024 (Location: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli)

Day 4: EUREMAP: how a consortium can optimise marine bioprospecting pipeline

Session chairs: Christian Galasso and Chiara Lauritano

9.00 – 10.00 Tanja Miletic (EU-OPENSCREEN and the role of European Research Infrastructures in marine bioprospecting)

10.00 – 11.00 Deborah Power (Engaging all Facets of Marine Bitechnology for Sustainable Blue Growth)

11.00 – 11.30 coffee break

11.30 – 12.30 Genoveffa Nuzzo (Marine natural products in bioprospecting)

12.30 – 13.30 Rob Finn (Uniting different scientific views to enhance marine bioprospecting)

13.30-14.30 Lunch

14.30 – 15.30 Final remarks and best poster and best presentation award assignment