Sergio Balzano is a Researcher at the Marine Biotechnology Department of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (Naples). He graduated in 2004 from Parthenope University, Naples after a Master's thesis in phytoplankton taxonomy and morphology. Then, he completed a Ph.D. in Marine Biogeochemistry at the University of Southampton, where he focused on trace metal cycling in marine aggregates. Finally, he carried out three distinct postdoctoral research projects in Roscoff (France, 2009–2012, phytoplankton diversity and ecology), Adelaide (Australia, 2012–2014, biofouling microbes), and Texel (Netherlands, 2014–2018, biosynthetic pathways of microalgal lipids).