David Peris Navarro

David Peris Navarro is a Researcher and Principal Investigator at the University of Oslo (Norway) since 2021, and a Distinguished Researcher at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA)-CSIC in Spain since 2022. He leads the FunGIA Lab, which focuses on fungal evolution and biotechnology applications. His research spans multiple countries including Spain, UK, USA, Norway, and Germany.

Dr. Peris holds a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Valencia (2012). His educational background includes:

• PhD in Biotechnology, University of Valencia (2012)

Dr. Peris specializes in comparative genomics, fungal evolution, high-throughput microbial phenotyping, bioinformatics, and biotechnological applications. His research focuses on understanding mechanisms of speciation and adaptation in mushroom-like organisms and yeasts. He implements bioinformatic tools to study evolution and adaptation of fungi, and develops new molecular methods for generating new strains with applications in the production of healthy, safe, and sustainable food products. His work has significant implications for understanding reticulate evolution in adaptation to new environments and using the Saccharomyces genus as a model to understand human diseases and evolution.

Dr. Peris' publication record shows a strong focus on yeast genomics, hybridization, and adaptation mechanisms. His recent work examines macroevolutionary diversity in Saccharomyces, molecular diversity in fungal mating systems, synthetic hybrids, fermentation innovation through yeast hybridization, and mitochondrial contributions to thermal adaptation. These studies span disciplines including genetics, evolutionary biology, microbiology, and biotechnology, with applications in food production and industrial processes.

His scientific achievements include:

• Co-author of 28 papers in indexed international journals (2 journal covers, 1 top 1% cited in 2018)
• 3 reviews (1 top cited in 2018/19)
• 2 national journals publications
• 2 patents and 3 intellectual disclosure reports
• DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics
• Oral Talk Prize in ISSY33
• Poster Prize in ECFG15

Dr. Peris has mentored 7 undergraduates, 3 master students, 6 PhD students, and 3 postdocs. He currently supervises 2 PhD students, 1 postdoc, and 2 undergraduate students. His research has been funded by prestigious organizations including the European Commission H2020 framework, Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES), PacBio, Illumina Inc., Research Council of Norway (RCN) FRIPRO, and Valencian Regional Government (GVA) plan GenT. He has led projects such as PloidYeast and Sacchar2Omics, focusing on yeast biodiversity and polyploidization effects.

Dr. Peris is also active in the scientific community as president of the regional Section of Spanish Scientists in USA (ECUSA) - Midwest (2015-2017), developing mentoring and outreach programs. He serves on 2 journal editorial boards and has reviewed for 20 international journals.