Luis Cunha is a molecular ecologist with a strong focus on soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, particularly in historical human-modified landscapes like Amazonian Dark Earth. He holds a biology degree from the University of the Azores (2005), an MSc in Shellfish Biology, Culture, and Fisheries from Bangor University (2006), and a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of the Azores (2012). He is currently an Assistant Researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology (University of Coimbra, Portugal), funded by an FCT CEEC Individual Contract, and a Visiting Professor at the University of South Wales, UK.
Luis’s research combines molecular and classical approaches in evolutionary ecology, phylogenetics, and population genomics. As joint-Director of the 'Terra Preta de Indio' network and co-lead of the Soil Health Research line at the Centre for Functional Ecology, he collaborates extensively and contributes to the thematic line “Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries” at the associated laboratory TERRA. With an H-index of 17, he has published in high-impact journals such as Scientific Reports, Heredity, and GCB and has secured over €3M in research funding.
Luis has extensive fieldwork experience in neotropical forests and African grasslands, leading expeditions and mentoring MSc and PhD students. His entrepreneurial efforts, including successful crowdsourced funding, were featured in media outlets like Newsweek.
