Dr. José-Julio Ortega-Calvo, born in Seville, Spain, in 1963, is senior researcher at Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville, Spanish National Research Council (IRNAS-CSIC), and leader of the research group “Bioremediation and Bioavailability”.

Dr. Ortega-Calvo has experience in microbiology and environmental chemistry, working on bioavailability science and biodegradation of organic pollutants since the last 25 years. The research performed during all these years aims in understanding biodegradation of persistent organic chemicals as a driver for reducing bioavailable fractions of the pollutants, and thus diminishing human and ecological risk related to the direct or indirect exposure to contaminants. The research covered basic aspects on how pollutant phase exchange affects biodegradation, as well as applied aspects, by proposing different ways to operate on bioavailability for a better bioremediation performance and risk reduction, and ultimately, by creating a momentum, at an international level, for real implementation of bioavailability science into retrospective and prospective regulations of organic chemicals.