She received her PhD in 2003 from McGill University (Canada). Vera?s research interests include: taxonomy of late Quaternary dinoflagellate cysts; cyst production, ecology, seasonal and annual dynamics in coastal waters; applications of dinoflagellate cysts as indicators of water quality conditions, with an emphasis on the pollution and eutrophication in North American estuaries; and high-resolution paleoceanographic reconstructions using sedimentary archives.