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University of Santiago de Compostela
The University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), one of the oldest and most prestigious Universities in Spain, was founded in 1495. In terms of human resources, the University has more than 2,000 professors involved in education and research, over 30,000 students each year and more than 1,000 people working in administration and services. The University’s yearly total budget is about €230 million.
The group of Marine Biotechnology and Aquaculture that will participate in the ByeFouling Project was founded in 1980’s by Prof. Jaime Fabregas and is now leaded by Prof. Ana Otero. The main area of expertise of the group is Microalgal Biotechnology, with more than 30 years’ experience in physiological and biotechnological studies on microalgae and cyanobacteria, with special focus on applications in the field of marine aquaculture, having published more than 100 articles on the subject in JCR journals. In recent years Prof. Ana Otero has started a new research line on biotechnological applications of the inhibition of bacterial communication (Quorum sensing) that has already produced 3 patents on marine bacteria and enzymes with QS inhibition activity. In the ByeFouling Project the group will carry out screening tasks in order to identify novel, low-toxicity, environmental-friendly compounds from sustainable sources with capacity to inhibit bacterial and microalgal biofilm formation, which constitute the first phase of marine biofouling. Full name: University of Santiago de Compostela |
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As a result of the education, research and social commitment of USC, a project called Campus Vida (http://www.campusvida.info) has been awarded by the Spanish Ministries of Education and of Science and Innovation with the International Campus of Excellence recognition.