I am a Professor (and forever student!) in the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Barcelona.
My research is extensive, including topics such as marine chemical ecology, Antarctic marine biology and ecology, marine natural products, biodiversity, and marine invertebrate biology. In recent years, I led the ECOQUIM, ACTIQUIM, DISTANTCOM, and BLUEBIO projects on the chemical ecology, biodiversity, bioactivity, and trophic ecology of marine invertebrate communities in the Antarctic continent, a difficult region with extreme habitats. I participated in 12 Antarctic expeditions (with ca. 160 dives in polar waters), often as cruise leader, as well as in other expeditions in tropical and temperate seas. Yes, Antarctic waters are very cold!!!!
My goals also include the identification of molecules that regulate interactions between marine organisms, and the evaluation of their bioactivity and potential pharmacological use, to develop new drugs, in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies. Our research group has contributed significantly to the study of marine benthic biodiversity, and has described new bioactive molecules (hogsonal, illudalenes, some meridians, aplicyanins, granuloside, ...), improving the current knowledge of marine chemical diversity. Some of these molecules have been patented. Our team has also made significant contributions to expanding our knowledge of Antarctic biodiversity, such as the discovery of several new species of marine invertebrates, including molluscs, annelids, nemerteans, bryozoans, and others. I currently lead the CHALLENGE project aiming at analyzing human pressures and natural hazards as challenges for the Antarctic marine benthos.
http://www.conxitaslab.cat/index.php/category/general/
. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConxitaLAB/
. Twitter: @Conxita_LAB
Código ORCID: 0000-0002-5489-8376
Researcher ID: B-9466-2008
Scopus Author ID: 7101629549
Loop: 131952
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=hI1auqsAAAAJ&hl=ca&oi=ao
Research Gate : www.researchgate.net/profile/Conxita_Avila
Publons: publons.com/a/1545796/
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