Teaching in 4 master courses (3 master programs) and one bachelor course. Developed modules for 2 courses. Additional lectures in master and PhD courses.

• Environmental Management in Planning (GE7083), 15 ECTS credits, master level (second cycle), part of master's Programme in Environmental Management and Physical Planning at Stockholm University; role: module responsibility, lectures, group projects, panel discussion, examination, grading
• Water resources sustainability (GE7094), 15 ECTS credits, master level (second cycle), role: module responsibility, lectures, workshops and laboratories, examination, grading
• International management in planning (GE7084), 15 ECTS credits, master level (second cycle), part of master's Programme in Environmental Management and Physical Planning at Stockholm University, role: lecture
• Climate Science and Society (GE5045),  15 ECTS credits, bachelor level (first cycle), role: module responsibility, lectures, workshops and laboratories, examination, grading
• Globalization, Environment and Social Change (KG7242), part of master's Programme in at Stockholm University, role: lecture
• Advanced Hydrology, master level (second cycle), part of master's Programme in Hydrology, Hydrogeology and Water Resources at Stockholm University; role: invited lecture on water resources under a changing climate, 2022
• Summer School Extreme Events – in Time and Space, Bolin Centre for Climate Research, PhD level (third cycle), role: lecture and exercise; August 2022, Gotland (Sweden)
• Frontiers in Physical Geography; PhD students at the department (third cycle), lecture, 2022

Selection of citizen and participatory science, outreach and pedagogical development

• Teaching and developing modules in 4 master courses (3 master programs)
• 2 podcasts, Tagliamento from top to bottom and A river of stories
• 8 invited lectures directed towards the community. Example: invited panelist on future scenarios for the Tagliamento river, Spilimbergo event, Italian-English (with interpreters), 2025, 200 participants
• 6 radio interviews, such as for the Italian National Radio, Rai Radio3, as part of the episode “Water under the bridge” of the program Radio3Scienza, May 2025 (available here)
• 5 newspaper articles, such as Tagliamento, a free-flowing river to coexist with, IlFriuli, 07/2020, Italian, online
• Scientific coordination of the project Rivervalues. Citizen science as a pedagogical tool to learn about water resources risks and biodiversity (undergraduate students), 2022.
• Mapping cultural ecosystem services and risk perception with novel methodologies: a communication and outreach workshop, Students for Rivers Camp 2022, Ötz river, English, 15 participants. Project coordination: The River Collective
• Forskarfredag presentation, Stockholm, 2023
• Outreach workshops “Past, present and future scenarios for the Tagliamento River” with the patronage and/or collaboration of municipalities, grassroots associations, and local businesses. General public, Italian, August-September 2021, 500 participants
• Lay Science bilingual blog to translate research outcomes into more layman discourse, 2021-2024, annascaini.com, Italian/English
• Main organizer of the River Bioblitz on the Tagliamento River, an international citizen science activity that aims at involving the locals of a river to observe the surrounding biodiversity. The BioBlitz activities were organized in collaboration with the River Collective NGO and involved both general public and high school students. 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025

My research focuses on understanding, communicating, and mitigating a range of water-related geohazards, with a particular focus on how societal values and perceptions influence vulnerability and resilience. I combine geospatial data of hydroclimatic variables, water flows, flood and drought risk, and water quality with participatory maps of socio-cultural values and river-related risk perception. By integrating these data sources, I develop a sustainable river management framework that builds on community engagement to achieve both disaster risk mitigation and ecosystem well-being.

My research revolves around three main themes:

1. Climate and human impacts on rivers and wetlands
2. Reduction and mitigation of water-related disaster risk
3. Riverine communities as agents of sustainable water management

My current work combines and leverages research experiences on land use impacts on hydrological processes into a multi-disciplinary approach to better understand society-water interactions through feedbacks between conflicts of values, climate change and sustainability. I work on data-driven approaches combining nutrient flows, stream and groundwater quality data and social-science methodologies such as interviews and questionnaires to build an understanding of how community engagement can help to create an integrated river management framework.

My research is unified by the common thread of interactions and the strong relation between research and knowledge transfer, including mentoring, outreach and teaching and learning interactions with actors inside and outside academia.