معرفی
Maria Rodrigues da Costa is a Lecturer in Veterinary and Animal Science at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), specializing in animal health and veterinary public health. She holds a PhD from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and has extensive experience in antimicrobial resistance research, biosecurity, and livestock disease surveillance. Her roles include key engagement with the Scottish and UK pig industries, administration of health schemes, and leadership in new initiatives for the sector. She contributes to the SRUC livestock disease surveillance intelligence centre and participates in EPIC as a pig-species specialist.
Education: PhD in Animal Production (2015-2018, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and a veterinary degree from the University of Lisbon (2008-2015). Previous roles include research at Teagasc (Ireland) and positions with the Portuguese National Authority for Animal Health.
Research focuses on bridging pig research with industry needs, particularly in biosecurity, antimicrobial stewardship, and zoonoses. She leads projects funded by Scottish Government (RESAS) and DEFRA, including studies on AMR flow from livestock, farmer-centric biosecurity practices, and meat inspection data utilization. She coordinates the BETTER COST Action’s WG2, scaling biosecurity knowledge across stakeholders.
Maria supervises 4 current Master’s students and has co-led SRUC’s Zoonoses and Epidemiology program since 2022. Her teaching includes veterinary epidemiology modules at UCD and SRUC. She frequently presents at international conferences and collaborates across Europe on livestock health initiatives.
