Maria studied physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, from which she received her MSc in Environmental Physics and her PhD in Atmospheric Physics-Climatology.

She has worked as postdoctoral researcher at the School of Earth Science of the University of Melbourne, Australia and with the Climate Change Assessments Group of the National Observatory of Athens. Currently, she is Assistant Professor at the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, NKUA.

Her research focuses on climate and climate variability, on current and future climate trends and extremes, on environmental and social impacts of climate change and on vulnerability assessments mainly in the Mediterranean region.