Oana Birceanu

I am a NSERC Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Biology at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). My research explores the interactions between aquatic organisms and their environment. A toxicologist and comparative physiologist by training, I seek to understand how fishes cope with living in the Anthropocene. In a world where our waste water ends up in their environment, some fishes are extremely resilient to anything we and our waste might throw at them: from pharmaceuticals and plastics to pesticides and organic waste; others, however, are not so lucky. My research focuses on understanding what makes the "lucky" ones so resilient and how can we better protect those sensitive species. This work has allowed me to have interactions with national and international government officials, academics and industry, where communicating my science is key to developing and implementing policies about our environment. What I am most excited about, however, is engaging with the public and making my science accessible to everyone.