Prof. Dr. Cristian Jorge Gallardo-Escárate is a biologist from the Universidad Católica del Norte and holds a Ph.D. in Aquaculture from CICESE, Baja California, Mexico (2005). In 2006 he joined the University of Concepción, where he has led the Aquaculture Biotechnology and Genomics Laboratory, specializing in genomic studies of marine organisms. Since 2012, he has been the Deputy Director of the INCAR Center of Excellence funded by ANID (formerly CONICYT) through the Priority Areas Fund (FONDAP) program. He serves on evaluation committees for European projects in marine biotechnology. His research interests include marine biology, genetics, and oceanography.