Dr. Osvaldo Ulloa Quijada, Director of the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO) and director of the Oceans Institute UdeC, had an outstanding participation as a keynote speaker at the 4th Latin American Congress of Microbial Ecology (ISME-Lat 2025), held from August 4 to 9 in Mérida, Mexico.
Following the meeting, which brought together nearly 500 specialists, Dr. Ulloa highlighted the high quality of the event and made a strong call to strengthen scientific ties within the region.
The ISME-Lat congress has established itself as the main meeting point for the Latin American microbial ecology community, offering a high-level platform in Spanish and Portuguese. "It's an event that brings together the Latin American community, a large percentage of whom cannot participate in world congresses due to cost," explained Dr. Ulloa.
Impressed by the "excellent organization and hospitality", the IMO Director highlighted a key reflection that emerged from the meeting: "One of the things that comes out strongly at these events is the need for more collaboration in our region."
According to Dr. Ulloa, there is a tendency to prioritize collaborations with the Global North, despite the enormous local potential. “We typically work much more with researchers from the Global North, but we have a wealth of talent and environments in our region that should lead us to collaborate more,” he emphasized. For the director of the IMO, the path to building these networks is based on trust and mutual recognition: “Collaboration involves getting to know each other, respecting and valuing what the other person does, and creating mechanisms for working together.”
Dr. Ulloa's participation as one of the main speakers at ISME-Lat 2025 not only reaffirms his leadership in the field of marine ecology, but also positions the IMO as a key player in promoting a science with regional identity and global impact, in line with its mission to explore and understand the most unknown corners of the ocean.
Recognition of Career
In addition to his role as a keynote speaker, Dr. Osvaldo Ulloa's participation in ISME-Lat 2025 was crowned with a significant recognition from the organizing committee. Along with three other distinguished speakers, the academic was honored for his invaluable career and contributions to the discipline.
Specifically, he was recognized for his contribution to the development of aquatic microbial ecology, especially in Latin America, and for his fundamental contribution to the training of young researchers in the area of marine microbiology.
Dr. Ulloa received the award with gratitude and surprise, extending the credit to his team. "The recognition took me completely by surprise, and I receive it with great humility. It represents decades of work alongside my students, postdoctoral fellows, technicians, and collaborators," he said.
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