Aquatic Resource Biorefineries

Hamid Amiri

Hamid Amiri is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering–Biotechnology at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. His expertise lies in bioprocess design, integration, and techno-economic evaluation for waste-to-value platforms. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering–Biotechnology from the Isfahan University of Technology and has held significant academic and leadership positions in biotechnology and environmental research.

Dr. Amiri has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, with notable works appearing in Nature Food, Biotechnology Advances, and Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. His research has garnered over 3,300 citations (h-index 33, Google Scholar, August 2025). He was recognized as a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher in Engineering (Top 2% globally) in 2023 and 2024. Dr. Amiri serves on the editorial board of BMC Biotechnology and co-edited the book Higher Alcohols Production Platforms: From Strain Development to Process Design (Elsevier, 2023). His current research focuses on aquatic biorefineries for the sustainable production and enhancement of high-value biopolymers through innovative processing strategies.

Mhd Ikhwanuddin

Mhd Ikhwanuddin is a distinguished expert in aquaculture in Malaysia, with a specialization in shellfish breeding and culture, particularly Portunidae crabs and Penaeid shrimps. Between 2018 and 2025, he served as the Director of the Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP) at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Malaysia. Under his leadership, AKUATROP achieved recognition as a Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. As the founding Director of this HICoE, Professor Ikhwanuddin significantly advanced AKUATROP’s standing as a national leader in aquaculture research, with a focus on food security and sustainable shellfish aquaculture development. In 2025, he was appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at UMT.

Internationally recognized for his expertise, Professor Ikhwanuddin has led over 110 research projects supported by national agencies, international collaborations, and industry partners, including more than 50 international grants. His research has had considerable regional and global impact.

Mortaza Aghbashlo

Mortaza Aghbashlo is a Professor of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Tehran, Iran, and a Visiting Professor at Henan Agricultural University, China, where he contributes to an international platform for high-profile research collaborations. He has authored over 300 publications, including articles and reviews in leading journals such as Nature Food, Joule, Progress in Energy and Combustion Sciences, Trends in Biotechnology, Biotechnology Advances, Nano Energy, and Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. As of June 2025 (Google Scholar), his work has accumulated 26,200 citations, with an h-index of 88 and an i10-index of 291.

Dr. Aghbashlo was named a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher in the Cross-Field category in 2021. He co-edited the Springer Nature volumes Biodiesel: From Production to Combustion and Fungi in Fuel Biotechnology (both 2018). His editorial service includes memberships on the boards of Progress in Energy and Combustion Sciences (Elsevier), Biofuel Research Journal (BRJ), and e-Prime (Elsevier), as well as a term as Associate Editor of Cleaner Environmental Systems (Elsevier). He has also guest-edited special issues for the Journal of Hazardous Materials and Environmental Research.

Meisam Tabatabaei

Meisam Tabatabaei is a Professor of Environmental Biotechnology at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. From 2010 to 2019, he collaborated with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to promote waste-oriented biofuels in developing countries. Since 2016, he has been a lead collaborator for the Lancet Commission on Public Health and Climate Change (UCL, UK).

Professor Tabatabaei has published over 450 works, including original research papers and reviews in prominent journals such as The Lancet, Progress in Energy and Combustion Sciences, Nature Food, Trends in Biotechnology, and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. He currently holds positions as a Visiting Professor at Henan Agricultural University (China), Visiting Professor & Global Ambassador at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada), and Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Zhengzhou University (China). He has held senior editorial roles in journals with impact factors exceeding 30 and currently serves as Associate Editor of Critical Reviews in Biotechnology and an editorial board member of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. As of June 2025, Prof. Tabatabaei has led and participated in 24 research projects focused on waste valorization, biorefineries, sustainable aquaculture, climate change, and food security.