Special Interview with Dr. Joana C Prata
In August, the Editorial Office of Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics (WEC&N) was glad to have a special interview with the Editorial Board member Dr. Joana C Prata from the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
About Dr. Joana Prata:
Joana C. Prata, DVM PhD, conducts research on environmental challenges under One Health and on sustainable approaches to mitigate them under the Circular Economy. She holds a master's degree in Veterinary Medicine (2016) from the University of Porto, is a certified veterinarian, and a PhD in Biology and Ecology of Global Change (2021) from the University of Aveiro and University of Lisbon. Since 2018, Dr. Joana C Prata has published 40 peer-reviewed papers in international ISI-indexed journals (mostly as the first author) with more than 2,000 citations and an h-index of 20 (according to Web of Science). She has peer-reviewed over 370 papers for prestigious international journals, edited a Special Issue in Environments, edited a book on One Health for Elsevier, and is a member of the Editorial Board of WEC&N. She has been invited to multiple panels as a project reviewer and policy advisor and has been listed in Stanford University's World Top 2% Scientists for single year rankings 2019 and 2020. She is also the main webmaster, SEO specialist, editor, and writer of the website 'O Meu Animal' (https://omeuanimal.com) which aims at providing high-quality information for pet owners, amounting to over 4 million views.
The interview covers Dr. Joana C Prata's perspectives on some environmental problems such as future research trends, challenges, and suggested approaches in the field of micro/nanoplastics. The recording of this interview can be found below:
Dr. Joana C Prata also said that social media is an efficient method of dissemination and is playing a key role in modern science. Currently, many professional discussions take place on social media platforms like Twitter.
Moreover, Dr. Joana C Prata considers online webinars as effective tools to communicate with other researchers and promote free discussion. Compared to traditional presentations, webinars provide more opportunities for social interaction and idea exchange.
Finally, as a member of the Editorial Board of WEC&N, Dr. Joana C Prata puts forward the following two points, which are also endorsed by WEC&N:
- 1. To have fair and transparent editorial and revision processes, which will help bring reputation to the journal. Manuscripts shall be handled objectively and authors treated fairly and equally despite nationality, gender, age, etc.
- 2. To provide a quick review and edition process while ensuring the quality of the published manuscripts.
The expectations are well received, and we will continue to improve WEC&N.
Thanks to Dr. Joana C Prata for taking the time to attend this interview. We look forward to hearing more researchers’ academic and publishing insights.
Respectfully Submitted by the Journal Editorial Office
Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics
