TETTRIX, the new Horizon Europe project coordinated by CETAF, officially started on 1 September 2026. Bringing together 17 partners, including the University of Lisbon and two affiliated entities from 10 European countries, the four-year project will strengthen Europe’s taxonomic capacity and help build a more integrated, skilled and policy-ready taxonomic system.
The Kick-off Meeting was held at Brussels, 7-9 October 2026 at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), marking the beginning of the project’s collaborative work. The University of Lisbon will be responsible for the Work package focused on Ethical, social & economic aspects and I will lead the ambitious task of developing a European Certification System for Taxonomy Training, under the Work Package on advancing Taxonomic Capacity.
And TETTRIX is officially open, says Ana Casino, the Project Coordinator and CETAF Executive Director.
17 partners and two affiliated entities from 10 European countries, join together to bridge taxonomy into society.
The University of Lisbon team was present, looking forward to advance taxonomy literacy in the society.
Clara did her PhD on hybrid zones dynamics of the fire salamander in north Iberia, using genomics and life-history data. She defended her Viva at the University of Porto and it was nice to discuss the implications for conservation of all the different evolutionary strategies used by fire salamanders.
Clara, with her supervisor, Guillermo Velo Antón, the rest of the juri, including myself, all quite happy for being part of this journey.
What an atmosphere! MUHNAC once again hosted European Researchers’ Night, bringing together museum staff, curators, and many researchers keen to share their work with the public. It is great being part of it, chatting with visitors and co-leading the reserve tour for those who were lucky and signed up in time.
. **Photo credits for César Garcia.
It was a joy to help organising and attending the VII International Conference of Malaria and other blood Parasites of Wildlife & IV International Symposium of Wildlife Diseases Research Network, that took place in Badajoz, Spain, from 02 - 05 September 2026.
So many happy researchers, at the Badajoz University. It was a great opportunity to network and discuss the future of heamosporidian research
🌿 Estuarine organisms – from algae to birds 🐦🦀
On 30 August, I led again a field trip to the Ave River Estuary, in collaboration with the Vila do Conde Centro Ciência Viva, as part of the Ciência Viva programme for Summer 2026, a science awareness program aimed to the general public.
In this field trip, that I started in 2001 in Mondego River Estuary, more than just learning about biodiversity, the activity provides an opportunity to reflect on the importance of protecting estuaries and to understand the signals these ecosystems give us about the impact of human activities on nature.
An experience definitely worth repeating!
Amazing weather, fantastic listeners, lots of waders and invertebrates, and mudflats. What else do you need?
The 5th Symposium of the GenomePT - National Research Infrastructure for Genome Sequencing and Analysis, was held at the FCUL, Portugal. I was invited to talk about Museomics and Conservation, and where I also promoted bonds with PRISC, the National Research Infrastructure for Biological Collections.
GenomePT Symposium gathered a large group of people working on genomics, from human to trace DNA.
Olimpia is a PhD student at the Department of Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest, Hungary). She visited our lab, attended our PhD course on “Museum Techniques in the 21st Century” and participated on the Azores Bullfinch Atlas in São Miguel, Azores.
We were glad to host Olimpia Horvath during her stay, where she enjoyed delving into museomics and our efforts to conserve the Azores Bullfinch.
