Ima Vieira holds a PhD in Ecology from the University of Stirling, Scotland (1996), and is a senior researcher at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, in Belém, Brazil, of which she was director in the 2005-2009 administration. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of Empresa Brasil de Comunicação-EBC and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute-IDSM.
She is a professor in the postgraduate programs in Environmental Sciences, at the Federal University of Pará, and in Biological and Botanical Sciences, at the Rural University of Amazonia, both in partnership with the Goeldi Museum.
She has developed a relevant activity linked to research on the ecology of the Amazon rainforest and is considered one of the main specialists on the Amazon and an active voice in the defense of this biome and its people. In 2019, she received the Scientific Outstanding Award from the Government of the State of Pará for her work in public recognition and dedication to science.
She participates in research groups and national and international committees. She is currently a member of the Council of the Sinbiose Program of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, of the Advisory Council of the Guamá Science and Technology Park and of the Forum on Climate Change of the state of Pará. She is also a member of the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services -BPBES and of the Global Landscape Forum-Amazon. She has a special interest in the articulation between science and public policy and is a member of the Coalition of Science and Society and of the Public Policy Working Group of the Brazilian Association of Ecological Science and Conservation-ABECO.
In 2019, she served as an expert in the Special Synod for the Amazon at the Vatican, at the invitation of Pope Francis. She was recently elected to the Council of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science-SBPC.