Degree in Biology, Lisbon University and PhD in Environmental Sciences, New University of Lisbon. Since 1992 develops her research in the Institute of Marine Research - IMAR, today integrateS in the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre – MARE at NOVA FCT (research line Environmental Risk).
Following her PhD in Contaminated Estuarine Environments, pursued a pluri- and interdisciplinary research, having as main objectives: i) development of methodos for evaluating the quality and environmental risk of sedimentary environments in coastal ecosystems, integrating studies of metallic and organic contamination with toxicological effects. These studies led to the development of methodos for defining the spatial sampling strategy, innovative indices of sediment contamination and disturbance of the benthic macrofauna, the development of an acute toxicity test and contributed to the progress of the use of biomarkers of exposure and effect. ii) the understanding of the biological effects of environmental contamination by investigating a set of biomarkers and the biological response to contaminant exposure and more recently microplastics, integrating genetic, biochemical and histopathological biomarkers with individual responses. These studies, which used invertebrates and vertebrates allowed to deepen the understanding of biological processes triggered at various levels of biological organization, from the molecule to the individual, in response to exposure to individual contaminants, and to complex mixtures.
Ongoing studies include the development of molecular methods applied to the monitoring of benthic macrofauna communities in estuaries, studies in which the risk assessment of contaminated sedimentary environments includes the risk to human health and the investigation of the effects of different trophic stages of the sediment in the estuarine and marine trophic chains, developing methodologies that will allow monitoring with an ecosystemic approach, essential for a sustainable exploitation of resources.

ORCID:  http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8479-4941

 Email: mhcosta@fct.unl.pt