Ana Isabel Ribeiro Lopes holds a degree in Biology from Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP) and a master's degree in Applied Microbiology from Escola Superior de Biotecnologia da Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Porto). During her master's degree she studied the antifungal activity of chitosans on dermatophytes. For a year, she was a trainee on Centro de Genética Médica Doutor Jacinto Magalhães, where she learned various techniques in the areas of molecular biology and biochemistry. From December 2020 to June 2023, she was a research fellow on Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (CBQF-ESB), working on project BIOMA, under the supervision of Professor Manuela Pintado and Professor Freni Tavaria. In this project, she was responsible for the production and characterization of antimicrobial edible films with plant extracts and essential oils and its application on fruits in order to expand their shelf life. Currently, she is a PhD student at ESB-UCP, developing her PhD thesis titled "Development and characterization of plant-based formulations for skin dysbiosis management" under the supervision of Professor Freni Tavaria and Professor Manuela Pintado. She published 5 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and presented 6 posters on national and international conferences (4 of which as first author). She was involved in the organization of seven events destined to high school students on ESB-CBQF and one event on FCUP. Her main areas of interest are Microbiology, Natural polymers, Plant extracts, Essential oils, Biotechnology and Antimicrobial formulations.