João is Co-Head of MARE-Madeira's Climate Change & Human Pressures team and coordinates numerous research activities focused on ecology, marine communities and anthropogenic pressures. Before joining MARE-Madeira he was based in the Azores and was a post-doctoral fellow and contractor with Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and has participated in numerous missions of the Global Reef Expedition. He is part of the scientific diving committee in MARE-Madeira and responsible for overseeing the planning ROV and UAS flight operations. João has a PhD in Marine Sciences (Marine Ecology Specialty) and a Licenciatura in Biology (Marine Biology Specialty) from the University of the Azores.