On 3 November 2025, CESAM marked One Health Day, an initiative that emphasised the importance of an integrated approach to human, animal and environmental health, in line with the Centre’s mission to promote excellence in science for sustainable development.
The initiative was organised by the Research Cluster on Environmental Monitoring, Health and Risk Assessment (RC5), coordinated by Artur Alves, CESAM researcher and professor at the Department of Biology, and Regina Duarte, CESAM/DQ researcher. It featured the participation of Marta Tacão, Marta Alves and Mónica Amorim, CESAM/DBIO researchers, João Costa, CESAM/DQ researcher, and Adelaide Almeida, CESAM researcher and professor at the Department of Biology.
Throughout the day, several thematic videos produced by RC5 were shared on social media, illustrating different scientific perspectives on the One Health concept – “One Single Health”.
Marta Tacão addressed the global challenge of antibiotic resistance, investigating its ecology and evolution in natural environments and the impact of emerging pollutants, such as microplastics, on the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria (see here).
Marta Alves explored the potential of microorganisms in association with plants for developing green solutions for more sustainable cities, including living walls capable of degrading air pollutants and enhancing biodiversity (see here).
João Costa focused his research on microplastics, assessing their presence and toxicity across different environmental compartments and identifying fungi capable of degrading polyethylene, a promising biological solution to mitigate this form of pollution (see here).
Mónica Amorim studied the effects of pollution and emerging contaminants on terrestrial organisms, contributing to environmental risk assessment and to achieving the European goal of zero pollution by 2050 (see here).
The day also included the lecture “Phage Therapy: When Viruses Become Health Allies”, presented by Adelaide Almeida, held at 6:30 p.m. at Fnac Aveiro. The session presented phage therapy as an innovative approach to combating infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, exploring the role of bacteriophages as natural allies in human health.
Artur Alves and Regina Duarte highlighted that such outreach activities play an increasingly important role in bringing science closer to society. They also highlighted the importance of communicating the work carried out in research centres such as CESAM and of demonstrating how the outcomes of this research have, or may come to have, a positive impact on people’s lives.
Through this initiative, CESAM reinforces the contribution of its research to promoting science committed to sustainability and to the One Health approach, integrating the environment, ecosystems and human well-being.