Inicio Who We Are Team Academic Board
Dr. Renato Quiñones Bergeret is a Marine Biologist from Universidad de Concepción and Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from Dalhousie University, Canada. In 1992, he became an Associate Researcher at the Fishing Promotion Institute (IFOP), and since 1995, he has been a faculty member in the Department of Oceanography at the Faculty of Natural and Oceanographic Sciences at the Universidad de Concepción.
Since 2013, Dr. Renato Quiñones Bergeret has been leading the Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research, INCAR.
Read MoreDr. Gallardo-Escárate is a Marine Biologist from Universidad Católica del Norte and Ph.D. in Aquaculture from CICESE, Baja California, Mexico (2005). In 2006, he joined to Universidad de Concepción, leading the Aquaculture Biotechnology and Genomics Laboratory, specializing in genomic studies of marine organisms. Since 2012, Dr. Gallardo-Escárate has been the INCAR Deputy Director. Dr. Gallardo-Escárate has published over 170 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and has made more than 250 presentations at scientific meetings around the world. Dr. Gallardo-Escárate has also served and currently serves on evaluation committees for European projects in the field of marine biotechnology.
Read MoreDr. Ruben Avendaño-Herrera is an Aquaculture Engineer with a bachelor’s in marine sciences from Universidad de Antofagasta (1997). He holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the Microbiology and Parasitology program at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2005), and a Post-Doctorate from the Universidad Andrés Bello (2010-2013). From 2006 to 2009, Dr. Rubén Avendaño-Herrera worked as a researcher at the pharmaceutical company Veterquímica Ltda., and in 2010, he joined to Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB). Currently, he is a Full Professor and director of the Laboratory of Pathology of Aquatic Organisms and Aquaculture Biotechnology at UNAB. He is also the Principal Investigator at INCAR.
Dr. Ruben Avendaño-Herrera main research topics include aquaculture pathology, aquatic organisms’ diseases, biotechnological tools applied to aquaculture, standardization of procedures to control and validate the appropriate use of antibiotics, and the development of vaccines against aquatic pathologies. He has authored over 120 articles (mainly indexed by WoS) and 7 book chapters, including one book on infectious diseases in salmon farming in Chile and worldwide. He is also referee for more than 30 international journals and member of the editorial board of Journal of Fish Disease.
Dr. Ruben Avendaño-Herrera has participated in 29 projects (national and international), 17 of them as principal investigator. He has supervised 11 doctoral theses, sponsored postdoctoral researchers, has participated as a committee member for 25 undergraduate theses. He has been part of the Animal Health and Production Committee of FONDECYT and served as its president and is currently a member of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee of FONDEF. He is also a member of various evaluation committees for different funds/grants from ANID and a member of the Aquaculture Working Group of CLSI.
Read MoreDr. Jaime Figueroa V. is a Biologist, MSc and PhD in cell and molecular biology from Universidad Austral de Chile (UACH), conducting his PhD thesis at University of Hamburg with a DAAD scholarship. Since 1990, he has been working as an academic and researcher at UACH, focusing on fish molecular biology. Initially, his research centered around comparative endocrinology, but the results from these investigations led him to delve into the study of the fish immune system. This eventually led to his extensive research on Piscirickettsia salmonis, a fish pathogen, for more than two decades. Dr. Figueroa V. has an impressive publication record with over 90 articles in renowned journals, contributing significantly to the understanding of P. salmonis. Additionally, he holds membership in 4 national and international scientific societies and is a member of 4 national and international scientific societies.
Various research projects funded by FONDECYT, Innova CORFO, and FIE have been carried out at the fish molecular biology laboratory at UACH in Valdivia. Some of these projects have been conducted in collaboration with other universities and national research groups. Dr. Figueroa V. has been a principal investigator at INCAR from the establishment of the center, overseeing the Animal Health in the Marine Environment research line at UACH. His research line has focused on significant pathogens such as P. salmonis, IPNv, ISA, in both salmonids and native fish, in partnership with various national and international organizations.
Dr. Figueroa is a full professor at UACH, an evaluator of postgraduate programs by CNA, and an evaluator of CONICYT postgraduate scholarships and FIPA projects by Subpesca. In terms of human capital development, he has supervised nearly 40 undergraduate theses and 16 Master's and PhD theses.
Read MoreDr. Jorge Dresdner Cid holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, as well as a MSc and a PhD in Economics from University of Uppsala, Sweden (1989). Currently, he is a Full Professor in the Department of Economics at Universidad de Concepción, Chile. He is also the principal researcher of the "Socioeconomic Sustainability" line at INCAR. Additionally, he is a senior researcher in the international network Environment for Development. Dr. Jorge Dresdner Cid serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Marine Resource Economics, an international specialized publication focusing on marine research from an economic perspective. Dr. Dresdner Cid's research areas include Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics, as well as Labor Economics. He has conducted studies on various topics, such as the socioeconomic impacts of aquaculture in remote coastal regions of Chile, the cost implications of Caligus treatments in salmon production, the effect of the ISA crisis on international salmon prices, and the economic behavior of mussel seed collectors, among others. Currently, he is working on a project focused on designing policies to promote small-scale aquaculture in Chile.
Read MoreDr. Doris Soto Benavides holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences at the Universidad de Chile (1978) and a Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis in the United States (1988). In 1990, she joined Universidad Austral de Chile in Puerto Montt, where she established the Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, specializing in the study of the environmental implications of aquaculture and the interactions between aquaculture and fishing. During her time there, Dr. Soto mentored a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate students and led numerous scientific projects in collaboration with the public and private sectors.
In 2005, Dr. Soto joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy, as a Senior Officer, responsible for programs and activities related to aquaculture and the environment, including climate change, on a global level. She led various projects and initiatives in different countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Dr. Soto has published over 50 scientific papers in high-level journals and numerous publications for FAO, including global guidelines and policy recommendations. In mid-2016, Dr. Soto returned to Chile to join to INCAR, under the umbrella of Universidad de Concepción. She is currently based in Puerto Montt, where she leads the area of climate change and aquaculture, as well as the development and implementation of the ecosystem approach in aquaculture.
Read More
