6th Seaweed for Health

Conference

Expected to be scheduled in 2026

Susan L. Holdt (Denmark), Associate Professor at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Food) has a broad experience in (bioactive) components, ingredients, threshold values and Danish and EU regulations of seaweeds. Susan are involved in multi-extraction of seaweed valorizing and optimizing the biomass use compared to the single-extraction of e.g. the existing carrageenan/hydrocolloid/stabilizing agent industry. All the research is applied with national and international aprtners within both research and businesses. She is the Secretary General of the International Seaweed Association, has initiated the Danish Seaweed Organisation (DSO; Danish-seaweed.dk) a marketing platform for seaweed companies, and she is chair of the cross disciplinary Seaweed Network in Denmark (www.tangnet.dk) initiated in 2008, with more than 360 members from industry, universities, organizations, national authorities, chefs, fish farmers, groups and persons that work with or have interest in seaweed. Susan was chair of the National Organizing Committee for the 22nd International Seaweed Symposium, Copenhagen 2016 (www.iss-2016.org) which the National Food Institute, DTU (DTU Food) is hosting. This won the prize in the category  “Best congress in Copenhagen in 2016 with less than 1,000 delegates”.

Stefan Kraan (Ireland), He moved to Ireland to pursue a PhD on phylogenetics and aquaculture of edible seaweeds at the National University of Ireland, Galway in 1998. He became manager of the Irish Seaweed Industry Organisation in 1998 and established the Irish Seaweed Centre in 2001, a dedicated R&D centre for seaweed-based research and development. In 2009 Stefan established Ocean Harvest Technology, a company dedicated in using seaweeds for animal health and production. After 8 years he resigned to pursue and develop some commercial ideas using seaweeds for a variety of purposes amongst them functional food ingredients for human food and novel algae cultivation systems for biomass production. He has organised the International Society for applied Phycology conference in 2008 in Galway and has been instrumental in several other seaweed meetings and conferences amongst them several International Seaweed Symposia. Dr Kraan is currently president of the International Seaweed Association.

Lucas Pérez Lloréns PhD, is a biologist and Professor of Marine Ecology at the Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences (University of Cádiz, Spain). He is president of the Spanish Phycological Society. He is author of four scientific books as well as nearly 100 scientific papers. His field of research encompasses from seagrass and seaweed ecology and ecophysiology to aquaculture. He is very much passionate of culinary ethnography of marine produce (mostly seaweeds), including its use in avant-garde cuisine. He loves cooking and he has collaborated with several chefs and cooking schools. He was awarded in several culinary contests. Two of his books: ¿Las algas se comen? (2016) and Those Curious and Delicious Seaweeds (2018) were awarded as “Best of the World” in the categories of Nutrition and Health Institutions and translation, respectively at the “Gourmand World Cookbook Awards (2016 and 2018). Together with colleagues from the University of Cadiz, he has advised the restaurant Aponiente (three Michelin stars) in the experimental cultivation of "marine rice" (Zostera marina seeds), which has allowed the chef Ángel León to win the National Award for Gastronomic Innovation 2021 granted by the Royal Spanish Academy of Gastronomy.

Dr. Prannie Rhatigan is a medical doctor with extensive experience in harvesting, cooking, and gardening with sea vegetables. She was born and raised in the North West of Ireland, where she continues to live and work. Her lifelong interest in the connection between food and health led her to publish Irish Seaweed Kitchen in 2009. Currently, she works in Public Health Medicine and has trained general practitioners in Brief Intervention and Motivational Interviewing. She has also contributed to the National Cardiovascular Strategy Programme and played a key role in implementing Ireland’s “Smoke Free at Work” initiative. In addition to her medical degree, she holds a degree in psychology. Prannie is widely recognized as Ireland’s leading culinary seaweed expert, conducting workshops and cookery demonstrations globally, from the USA and Canada to Australia and Europe. She frequently participates in Irish food festivals and supports the growing connections between seaweed and Irish cuisine. Her enthusiasm has earned her international recognition, with numerous TV and radio appearances, including on BBC Northern Ireland, Nationwide, and international cooking shows. Her Irish Seaweed Kitchen won a Gourmand Award Ireland for Best First Cookbook, and she later received a Special Acknowledgment for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food from Euro-Toques. She has also published an Edible Seaweed Pocket Guide, a seaweed-themed greeting card series, and an educational seaweed wall chart.

Leonel Pereira has a degree in Biology (Scientific branch), a PhD in Biology (specialty Cell Biology) and a Habilitation on Biosciences, specialty in Biotechnology, from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra, where he is currently Associate Professor, and Master's Degree in Biodiversity and Plant Biotechnology Coordinator. In addition to teaching at this university, he is an integrated researcher at CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology: Science for People & Planet. His interests focus mainly on the areas of Marine Biodiversity (algae), Marine Biotechnology (algae bioactive compounds) and Marine Ecology (environmental assessment). He is, since 2008, the author and editor of the electronic publication MACOI - Portuguese Seaweeds Website (http://www.flordeutopia.pt/macoi/), since 2018 he is a member of the editorial board of the scientific journals Marine Drugs an Applied Sciences, he is editor of several special issues of scientific journals (Journal of Applied Phycology, Botanica Marina, Marine Drugs, Applied Sciences) has been editor or author of more than 20 books, author of more than 160 indexed articles, and more than 72 book chapters. He has delivered over a hundred lectures and oral communications at various national and international scientific events. He is coordinator of several national and international research projects. In 1998 he received the Francisco de Holanda Award (Honorable Mention) and, more recently, the Mar Rei D. Carlos Award (18th edition), and winner of the CHOICE Award - outstanding academic title award 2016 - Book title: Edible Seaweeds of the World, CRC Press. It's part of The World's Top 2% Scientists 2022 list released by Universidade of Stanford and Elsevier, and Holds an h-index 34 WoS, h 33 Scopus, and h 37 ResearchGate.