Amélia Fonseca is graduated in Biology by the University of Porto (1990) and PhD in Biology, specialty in Genetics, by the University of Azores (2006), where she is presently Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Sciences and Tecnology. She is member of the Freshwater Ecology Research Group (FRESCO) of CIBIO Açores. Her main research interests are biodiversity and genetic characterization of microalgae and cyanobacteria species through the combination of molecular genetic markers; she is also interested in the genetic research of island species with great potential for toxicity, bioactivity and biotechnological application. She participated in research projects and services in several scientific areas, such as the study of the ecology and evolution of the Azores woodpigeon; the development of methodologies for the recovery and improvement of management of aquatic ecosystems, and more recently, in the genetic characterization and molecular identification of cyanobacteria and microalgae from the BACA culture collection. She published more than 50 publications including book chapters, articles in scientific journals, technical reports and conference communications (oral and posters). She has extensive teaching experience in curricular units related to genetics and molecular biology techniques, having supervised numerous undergraduate students, two masters' students and one PhD student.