Francesca Capanni is a researcher at the University of Siena, working in marine ecotoxicology, biodiversity conservation, and environmental contamination. She holds a PhD in Environmental Life Sciences from the University of Trieste, where she investigated the toxicity of plastic nanoparticles using molecular and transcriptomic approaches. Her research focuses on legacy and emerging contaminants, and their pathological effects on marine megafauna, with a focus on cetaceans from the Pelagos Sanctuary and the wider Mediterranean Sea. She has contributed to several national and international research projects on biodiversity conservation, chemical and biological pollution, and Natura 2000 species monitoring. Her work integrates chemical, ecological, and molecular tools to assess environmental stressors and inform conservation strategies.