Dr. Wright as well as being an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is a world leader in marine natural products drugs discovery and a recognized expert in the area of structure elucidation using NMR. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemisty at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. He has co-authored 1701 peer reviewed original research articles, and 4 book chapters. His academic career spanning over 30 years, including an interlude as a high school teacher of Mathematics, Chemistry and Physical Education, has been spent searching the natural world, mainly its oceans, for the chemical treasures it has to offer. His research group discovered the first compounds from the marine environment to have selective antimalarial activity and was also the first to isolate endophytic fungi from marine algae.

He is a Fellow at the Royal Chemical Society of Pharmaconosy. He serves as a reviewer of peer-reviewed journals in all areas relating to Natural Products Research with an emphasis on marine and microbial products, and NMR method development and application. He received a number of awards including an ETH (Zurich,Switzerland) Ph.D. scholarship and the American Society of Pharmacy Young Investigator Awardee.

Dr. Thierry Chopin obtained his Doctorate from the University of Western Brittany, Brest, France. He moved to Canada in 1989 and is presently Professor in the Biology Department at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John.

Dr. Chopin was originally an ecophysiologist and biochemist working on the relationship between nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) and the production of phycocolloids, such as carrageenans, in seaweeds of commercial value both in controlled culture conditions and natural beds. Phycocolloids - like carrageenans, agars and alginates - are seaweed extracts of high added value used in, among others, the textile, food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and biotechnological industries.

He became interested in aquaculture when he realized that the significant amount of inorganic nutrients and organic particles generated by fed finfish (salmon) aquaculture could be used to enhance the cultivation of extractive species, such as seaweeds (kelps) and shellfish (mussels), through the development of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems providing environmental sustainability, economic diversification and social acceptability for the aquaculture sector within the broader perspective of responsible coastal zone management.

In 2001, Dr. Chopin became the Principal Investigator of an inter-disciplinary project funded by AquaNet, the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence for Aquaculture, which was entitled "Development of integrated aquaculture (fish/shellfish/seaweed) for environmentally and economically-balanced diversification and social acceptability". Since 2006, the AquaNet project has expanded from R & D to C (commercialization) aspects with the support of the Atlantic Innovation Fund of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and the continued collaboration with scientists of the St. Andrews Marine Station of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Dr. Shawn Robinson is co-leader of the project) and our industrial partners Cooke Aquaculture Inc. and Acadian Seaplants Limited.

Dr. Chopin is Past President of the Aquaculture Association of Canada and of the Phycological Society of America, and is President of the International Seaweed Association. He is an advisor to the International Foundation for Science, in Stockholm, and a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Aquaculture International. Dr. Chopin is also Honorary Vice-Consul of France and was awarded the distinction of Chevalier in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques of France in 2006

Professor Juliet Brodie got Ph.D. of Marine Botany at National University of Ireland, Galway, 1989. 2001-2003, She has been the Head of Environmental Biology Department at Bath Spa University. She became Research Phycologist of Natural History Museum, London, 2003. She is currently the research chair of department of botany since 2009.

She serves on some editorial boards. 2004, she is guest editor of Proceedings of the 18th International Seaweed Symposium. 2000-2007, She has been the Editor for marine macroalgae for Nova Hedwigia. Now she is Associate editor for Phycologia since 2005.

Dr. John Benemann has both a B.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, both from the University of California Berkeley; in addition he spent three years as postdoctoral fellow, Dept. of Chemistry, U.C. San Diego; then rejoined U.C. Berkeley in the Department of Civil Engineering, where, as an independent researcher where he supervised half dozen Ph.D. thesis students in Civil Engineering, Biophysics and Plant Physiology. In 1980, he started a small microalgae biotechnology company and from 1983-1988 was Associate Professor at Georgia Inst. of Technology. For the past 20+ years he has been a part time researcher at the University of California Berkeley (Depts. of Civil Engineering and Plant and Microbial Biology). and at the University of Hawaii (adjunct Professor), and a full-time consultant. His current research interests are the areas of microalgae products, aquaculture, wastewater treatment, photosynthesis, municipal solid wastes management, biofuels and all aspects of greenhouse gas abatement. He is vice chair of algal biomass organization. Also he is the advisory board member of kent bioEnergy corporation. He is the author of numerous publications and reports and belongs to a number of professional and trade organizations. He was the manager of the "Microalgae Biofixation Network" operated by the IEA Greenhouse Gas R & D Programme.

Dr. Ulrich Ellinghaus, Male, Lawyer, graduated from the law school of Justus-Liebig-University Gießen in 1991. He continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Law School, where he obtained a Master of Laws in 1993. After qualifying bar examination he was admitted to the Frankfurt Bar and joined the law firm of Baker & McKenzie in 1996. His doctorate thesis on “The Responsibility of the Former Operator of a Decomissioned Installation for the Remediation of Historic Contamination” was graded “summa cum laude”. In 2000, he became partner of Baker & McKenze. Since 2002, he lectures business administration law at the faculties of law of Justus-Liebig-University Gießen and Philipps-University Marburg. In 2007, Justus-Liebig University awarded him the title of Honorary Professor. Ulrich Ellinghaus specializes in administrative law, with a particular emphasis on environmental law, health & safety law and product safety law. He advises and represents companies on the implementation of legal requirements and sustainability strategies.