UC Women in Science: Maria João Feio
The March guest of 'UC Women in Science' is a researcher at MARE - Centre for Marine and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology of University of Coimbra.
After a childhood filled with 'outdoor activities' and inspired by a 'great teacher' in high school, Maria João Feio decided to study biology. It was during her studies, and the many hours she spent canoeing on the Mondego River, that she became interested in the field of freshwater ecology.
Today, she is a researcher at the Department of Life Sciences of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) and at MARE - Centre for Marine and Environmental Sciences. Her research focuses on the 'ecological assessment of rivers'.
Today, the Portuguese scenario mirrors that of the rest of the world, where "about 50 per cent of water bodies do not achieve good ecological status". The construction of dams, artificial river banks and the invasion of non-native species are among the most visible threats to Portuguese rivers. In addition, water pollution from industry, agriculture and urban waste water is "one of the most easily manageable impacts", according to the researcher.
The CresceRio project works with the primary school community. "We work with one class at a time, from the 1st to the 4th grade, and we go on field trips to the city's streams to raise awareness of the importance of urban riparian ecosystems".
Maria João Feio is also leading the international project 'OneAquaHealth - Protecting Urban Aquatic Ecosystems to Promote One Health', which aims to show how the quality of freshwater ecosystems affects human health.
Watch the interview (click to open YouTube and turn on closed captions [CC] for English subtitles)
Translation and subtitles: Diana Taborda and Karine Paniza
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Short Bio
Maria João Feio received her B.Sc. in Biology in 1996 and her M.Sc. in Ecology in 1999 from the University of Coimbra.She received her Ph.D. in Biology with a specialisation in Ecology from the UC in 2005. (in collaboration with Environment Canada, Atlantic Region) and held postdoctoral positions at the Universities of Canberra, Australia (2006-2009) and Lyon, France (2009). She also worked as a researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Alpine Biological Station Lunz am See (1998-1999). Throughout her career, Maria João has coordinated 18 national and international R&D projects and has been instrumental in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Portugal and the Mediterranean region, collaborating closely with the National Environment Agency.
Maria João Feio currently leads the Freshwater Ecology Research group at MARE-UC. Her main research interests include freshwater ecology, ecological assessment of rivers, urban aquatic ecology, ecosystem services, One Health, urban sustainability, predictive ecological modelling, and environmental education. She also leads OneAquaHealth (Horizon Europe; 2023-2026), a multidisciplinary project involving 13 partners from 10 European countries. This project focuses on exploring the relationship between the health of urban aquatic ecosystems and human health. Maria is deeply committed to transferring knowledge to society and raising awareness of environmental issues. Since 2018, she has been leading the CresceRio project, an initiative in environmental education and participatory science. The project involves school communities to promote awareness and conservation of urban streams in the city of Coimbra. An advocate for a safe and fair environment in science, she is the founder of the Gender & Science Group of the Iberian Association of Limnology, created in 2014 and winner of the 'Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion' award from the Spanish Association of Terrestrial Ecology, 2022. The group is dedicated to understanding and reducing gender inequalities in science and ecology.