Anabela Marisa Azul, PhD in Biology, specialisation in Ecology, leads the research group Interdisciplinary Studies on Metabolism at the CNC-UC Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra. The group has three main interests: 1) Attributes of fungi for human and environmental health; 2) Human-nature interactions for health and sustainability; 3) Visual communication and comics practice as research and method. Marisa devoted two decades investigating the symbiosis between root plants and fungi of soil (mycorrhizae; http://www.deemy.de/), with a focus on the interplay between the structure and diversity of fungal communities, land use, and sustainability, in Mediterranean woodlands, fully committed with interdisciplinarity and participatory research approaches. In 2009, she became an associated researcher (under FCT programme Ciência 2008) at the Centre for Functional Ecology, where she remained until 2014. Here, she developed a holistic framework that combined innovation in food production with biodiversity conservation goals, with significant contributions in (a) directing the first pilot on Tuber borchii sustainable cultivation in Portugal; (b) knowledge translated into a policy that recommends that the Government regulate the production, transformation, distribution, and market, of wild mushrooms and truffles (Resolução da Assembleia da República nº167/2016); and (c) public scientific awareness (from early childhood on). She moved to CNC-UC in 2014 to integrate the advanced studies office, being successful in attracting 7.543 million euros in 3 MSCA. At CNC-UC, Marisa explores the interplay between the attributes of fungi and human metabolism, the biodiversity-health relationships, and novel approaches for promoting science understanding, with an ultimate goal of changing praxis and behaviours, as paths forwards health and biodiversity conservation. Since the start of her contract as junior researcher, in 2019, she published 11 (73,3%) publications in top 25% journals, and 9 (53%) publications as corresponding or co-senior author, with a total of 625 citations (Google Scholar) and 264 (Scopus); the total co-authors has increased to 144. She is a deputy editor of the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (17 volumes), co-editor of 6 science books, co-author of 6 science books, including 4 for children and 2 of comics, and the coordinator of the animation 'Montado: as long as we live together' (http://montadomedia.com/, nominated for the New Media Prize of the European Science TV and New Media Festival and Awards 2015). Last two years, Marisa attracted 9.77 million euros of competitive funding as Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) of PAS GRAS (doi: 10.3030/101080329) in the Health cluster of the Horizon Europe programme and PI of Mushrooms from 'Farm to Fork' a PRR project; and 7.5 million euros as research team in 1 ERA Chair project and 1 Twinning project. She has been PI (supervisor) in 1 EU-funded and 12 national projects (including 5 funded by Ciência Viva), and participated in other 5 EU-funded and 7 national projects (in a total of 26.61 million euros in the last 8 years). Marisa has mentored 5 PhD (2 from MSCA-ETN), 7 MSc students, 7 early stage researchers and several advanced training internships. Since 2020, Marisa co-coordinates an advanced course about One Health in the PhD Program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB) and the curricular unit Health, Sustainability and Planning in the Master Program in Integrated Urban Rehabilitation (mRUI); collaborated as a lecturer in advanced national and international schools and courses; co-organised and participated in scientific meetings (also as invited); reviewed papers; participated in juries of PhD and Master degrees and grant applications. She is actively involved in science outreach and community based actions such as the mushroom festival Míscaros (https://www.festivalmiscaros.pt/).