The Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and the University of Aveiro (UA) welcomed researchers Yide He, from Nanjing Tech University, and Chao Li, from Northeast Normal University (NENU), from 1 to 4 September, for a working visit aimed at deepening and expanding scientific cooperation in the fields of aquatic ecotoxicology and emerging contaminants.
The visit took place within the framework of the activities of the Sino-Portuguese Joint International Laboratory for Aquatic Ecotoxicology, established between Nanjing Tech University and UA/CESAM and inaugurated in December 2024. Yide He, who leads the Joint Laboratory at Nanjing Tech University, presented the university’s activities in the field of environmental sciences and the prospects for further developing the partnership with UA and CESAM. During their stay in Aveiro, the researchers were welcomed by Amadeu Soares, Director of CESAM, and Rosa Freitas, CESAM researcher and professor at the Department of Biology of the University of Aveiro, and took part in working meetings as well as scientific and institutional presentations.
The presentations helped identify new areas of scientific complementarity. Within the framework of the collaboration with Nanjing Tech University, discussions focused on research areas related to climate change and emerging contaminants in coastal and marine ecosystems, AI-assisted ecotoxicology, the harmonisation of risk assessment methodologies, and joint advanced training.
Chao Li’s participation also provided an opportunity to explore the expansion of cooperation to Northeast Normal University. Her research focuses on the environmental behaviour, toxicology and health effects of emerging contaminants, integrating approaches based on computational toxicology, big data analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Opportunities for joint projects, researcher and student mobility, and new advanced training initiatives were discussed.
On the morning of 4 September, the final day of the visit, the delegation was received by the Rector of the University of Aveiro, Artur Silva. The meeting provided an opportunity to frame the ongoing cooperation at institutional level and discuss prospects for its future development, both by deepening the partnership with Nanjing Tech University and by establishing new links with other Chinese institutions.
The visit represents another step towards consolidating the Sino-Portuguese Joint International Laboratory for Aquatic Ecotoxicology and developing a broader network of scientific cooperation between CESAM/UA and Chinese institutions, combining research, advanced training, and researcher and student mobility.
Visit to the Sino-Portuguese Joint International Laboratory for Aquatic Ecotoxicology at the University of Aveiro.