11 NOV 2026

As part of the BIODIV PhD program (PD BGE), students are challenged to organize visits from Invited Speakers. Recently, we expanded this initiative to 3-4 day visits, maximizing the opportunity to have experts from different fields interacting directly with the entire BIOPOLIS/CIBIO community.
In this context, we are pleased to announce that Arturo Morales (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) and Alex Valenzuela (IMEDA, UIB-CSIC) will be visiting BIOPOLIS/CIBIO from November 11th to 13th as part of this year’s BIODIV Week!
Their visit will focus on archaeozoology and the study of human-animal relationships, offering several opportunities for scientific exchange, learning, and informal networking.

Meet the Invited Speakers

  • Arturo Morales: A leading researcher in archaeozoology and Professor Emeritus at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, associated with the Laboratory of Archaeozoology. His research focuses on interpreting animal remains from archaeological sites and the role of animals in past human societies.
  • Alex Valenzuela: A researcher at IMEDA (UIB-CSIC) whose work bridges archaeozoology and paleontology, with a keen interest in studying animal remains and human-animal relationships in archaeological contexts.

 Program Overview:

 November 11th

  • 10:00 – 12:30 | Open Seminars (Open to all): Both guests will present a seminar open to the entire BIOPOLIS community, with a Q&A session at the end of each talk.
  • 12:30 | Student Lunch (Exclusive to registered BIODIV Students): An informal lunch for BIODIV students. A great chance to continue the conversation and get to know the speakers in a relaxed setting.
  • 14:00 – 16:00 | Masterclass: Introduction to Archaeozoology (Open to registered students and researchers): An introductory session exploring the principles, approaches, and applications of archaeozoology. (Further details about registrations will be announced soon).

 November 12th

  • 09:30 – 16:30 | 1-to-1 Meetings (Open to the entire BIOPOLIS community): Throughout the day, students and researchers can book individual meetings with Arturo and Alex to discuss research ideas, methodologies, or potential collaborations. (More information on available slots and how to sign up will follow).

 November 13th

  • 10:00 – 13:00 | Visit to Galeria da Biodiversidade (Registration open for BIODIV Students): We will conclude the program with a visit to the Galeria da Biodiversidade in Porto.

Information regarding registration and sign-ups for the different activities will be shared in due course.

We look forward to seeing you there!