My name is Cristiana do Vale Correia and I hold a Bachelor and Master degree in Biochemistry. Through all my life I have been very interested and enthusiastic about science, which led me to work in several cutting-edge laboratories such as the Rede de Química e Tecnologia (REQUIMTE), the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP), and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Helsinki. Due to my family's connection to the Agri-Food sector, after my graduation, I decided to work towards plant disease control, which led me to start working at the Integrative Biology and Biotechnology lab (IB2-FCUP/REQUIMTE), coordinated by Prof. Conceição Santos. Later, my will to do research abroad encouraged me to contact Prof. Francesco Spinelli, from the University of Bologna, Italy, and to establish a collaboration between Prof. Spinelli and Prof. Conceição. This collaboration started with a six-month Erasmus exchange and evolved into a PhD project that integrated also the collaboration of Prof. Elodie Vandelle from the University of Verona. I have just finished a joint PhD between the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) and the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences of the University of Bologna (DISTAL) - (Cotutelle). Part of the work was also developed at the Department of Biotechnology of the University of Verona (UNIVR). During my PhD I had the opportunity to work in three laboratories with complementary expertise, help in the organisation of international forums (AGRIFOOD FORUNS: https://www.ib2lab.com/events) and an international congress (10th International conference on Pseudomonas syringae: https://psyringae2024.com/), co-supervise students (2 Bachelor students), provide technical support in practical lessons of microbiology and to help write and manage research projects. I was especially involved in one project funded by PRIMA: Partnership for Research & Innovation in the Mediterranean area (VINEPROTECT - https://vineprotect-prima.com/) where I was responsible for coordinating the activities between the 4 participating countries (Portugal, Italy, Turkey and Morocco). I also had the opportunity to share my research outcomes in national and international congresses (5 posters and 1 oral) and to publish in indexed international journals (2 authorship and 3 co-authorship. Total publications: 10 ISI papers (HF=5)). During the last months of my PhD (while finishing thesis writing), I got the opportunity to integrate a traineeship at the European Food Safety Authority, where I have been working since November, at the Plant Health Risk Assessment Team.