Why did you choose the service/institution you chose?

In recent years, conducting research with fish in Italy has become increasingly challenging due to complex administrative procedures, which often lead to substantial delays in launching experimental activities and, as a result, prolong the time needed to obtain scientific outcomes. Moreover, in 2025 the availability of gilthead seabream larvae was severely limited, further complicating the planning and execution of experimental work. However, thanks to the collaboration with colleagues, I had already gained highly productive experience within the AquaExcell framework at HCMR, where the fish facility proved to be outstanding in terms of organization, technical support, and research infrastructure.

How did this access experience support your research?

Access to this facility was essential for my research, providing high-quality infrastructure and expert support. It enabled efficient and reproducible experiments with gilthead seabream, helping me study microplastic and pollutant toxicity and test innovative dietary mitigation strategies while maintaining high animal welfare standards.

How does your project benefit society, industry, or policy?

This project provides benefits at societal, industrial, and policy levels by addressing an urgent and emerging environmental threat: the combined impact of microplastics (MPs) and pollutants in aquatic ecosystems and along the seafood production chain.

From a societal perspective, the project contributes to safeguarding food safety and public health by improving our understanding of how these contaminants interact biologically and potentially accumulate in farmed fish species such as gilthead seabream. Generating robust scientific evidence on their combined toxicity helps reduce uncertainty regarding long-term exposure risks for consumers.

At the industrial level, particularly within the aquaculture sector, the project explores innovative and sustainable mitigation strategies based on dietary postbiotics. If effective, these approaches could enhance fish welfare, resilience, and productivity under environmental stress conditions, supporting more sustainable aquaculture practices and increasing sector competitiveness.

From a policy standpoint, the data produced will strengthen early-warning systems and provide science-based evidence to inform regulatory frameworks related to plastic and pollutant management. By clarifying synergistic effects that are currently underexplored, the project supports more accurate risk assessment, guiding decision-makers and regulatory agencies toward more effective environmental protection strategies.

Overall, the project bridges fundamental research and applied solutions, contributing to environmental protection, sustainable food production, and evidence-based policymaking.

How did this experience mark your scientific career?

This experience allowed me to broaden my research perspective by integrating ecotoxicology, environmental chemistry, and nutritional mitigation strategies within a multidisciplinary framework. Working on the combined effects of microplastics and pollutants pushed me beyond traditional single-contaminant approaches, strengthening my capacity to design more complex and ecologically relevant experimental models.

Scientifically, it enhanced my expertise in early-warning biomarkers and in linking mechanistic responses to applied outcomes in aquaculture. Professionally, it expanded my international network and reinforced my ability to collaborate within structured research infrastructures, consolidating my role as an independent researcher capable of leading innovative and translational research projects.

Overall, this experience marked a step forward in positioning my research at the interface between environmental risk assessment, organism welfare, and sustainable aquaculture, shaping a clearer and more strategic direction for my future scientific trajectory.

Please share some words of encouragement to future users.

I encourage future users to make the most of this opportunity. Beyond excellent facilities, the real value lies in the expertise and support of the team. Be proactive, engage with colleagues, and let the experience broaden your perspective and strengthen your research. For me, it was a truly enriching step in my scientific journey.