Maria Protopapa earned a BS (2007) and a PhD in marine sciences (2020) from the Aegean University. She is now a research assistant at HCMR. Her work in zooplankton has resulted in 18 publications and 14 presentations, lectures, as well as courses at the Kapodistrian University of Athens. She received the Innovator of the Year 2023 award from the Association of Greek Women Entrepreneurs for her project “SIPC DipStick”. Her research interests include zooplankton taxonomy, ecology, biomarkers, and ecotoxicology.