Dr. María F. Fillat is full professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology (University of Zaragoza) and leader of the group "Genetic regulation and physiology of cyanobacteria”. During the last decades her work has focused on the functional characterization of the FUR (ferric uptake regulator) proteins in cyanobacteria, including their regulation, participation in regulatory networks, their relationship with redox homeostasis and their role in the synthesis of cytotoxic microcystin. She completed her PhD in Sciences at the University of Zaragoza and worked as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands). She also visited other laboratories at the University of Konstanz (Germany), Emory University (Atlanta, GA), Universidad de Rosario (Argentina), IBVF (Sevilla), and the University of Gèneve. Prof. Maria F. Fillat has published more than 100 research articles in international refereed journals and holds two patents. Her group has received several awards from the Economic and Social Council (Government of Aragón), the "Instituto de Estudios Turolenses” and the Royal Academy of Sciences of Zaragoza. She led 13 research projects and 6 contracts with companies as a Principal Investigator (PI) and successfully organized 9 international and 3 national scientific meetings. Prof. Fillat has also supervised 10 PhD theses (3 more are in progress), 9 Diploma theses, and 13 Master projects. She has also participated in 4 teaching innovation projects, two of them as PI.

Dr. Ajay Kumar is currently working as an assistant professor at Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India. Dr. Kumar completed his tenure (2018-2022) as a visiting scientist from Agriculture Research Organization, Volcani Center, Israel and doctoral research from Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India on the theme "Plant microbe interaction". In his research tenures, Dr. Kumar has published more than 235 scientific contributions in the form of research and review articles, books or book chapters with the leading International Journals or Publishers. He has wide area of research experience, especially in the field of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Microbial biocontrol, Postharvest management of fruits, Microbial endophytes related with the medicinal plants and cyanobacteria-pesticides interactions. Dr. Kumar actively engaged in editing book with the leading publisher like Elsevier, Springer, CRC Press, Willey and edited more than 48 books and currently serving as an Associate editor in Frontier in Microbiology, BMC Microbiology and special guest editor in Microorganisms or Plants MDPI, Journal.