João is the founder and coordinator of MARE-Madeira and a Principal Investigator at MARE. He is the Principal Scientist and Scientific Coordinator of the Smithsonian MarineGEO NE Atlantic Madeira site and is Co-Head of MARE-Madeira's Climate & Human Pressures team. João has a PhD in Biological Oceanography and Marine Sciences from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and before founding the Canning-Clode Marine Lab (which would evolve into MARE-Madeira), he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). João currently chairs the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Working Group for Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms.