Dr Elena Perez-Alvaro is an internationally recognized expert in underwater cultural heritage, with a focus on the ethical, legal, and practical challenges surrounding submerged cultural sites. She is currently a Marie Curie Fellow—a prestigious grant awarded by the European Commission—supporting her pioneering research on the ethical and sustainable management of both tangible and intangible underwater cultural heritage across several Pacific islands. Her work also explores the protection of underwater heritage in the context of armed conflict, geopolitics, and environmental disasters.
Dr Perez-Alvaro is the author of several influential publications, including Underwater Cultural Heritage: Ethical Concepts and Practical Challenges (Routledge, 2019) and The Hidden Hand of Underwater Cultural Heritage (Brill, 2025). She has also contributed extensively to academic journals and edited volumes.
She serves as an Expert Member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Underwater Cultural Heritage and the ICOMOS Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage and she is Chair of the Blue Shield International Underwater Conflict Heritage Group. Previously, she held positions as Associate Professor in the Master’s program in Cultural and Natural Heritage Management at UNIR University (Spain) and as Research Associate at Nelson Mandela University (South Africa).