I am a PhD in Molecular Biology (FCT-NOVA /2019) with extensive experience in antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, and peptidoglycan biosynthesis in Staphylococcus aureus. My main research interests are in bacterial pathogenesis and molecular bacteriology namely: intracellular persistence, antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, peptidoglycan biosynthesis, stringent response, transcription regulation, genetic competence and mechanobiology (rheology). Currently I am a contracted researcher at the Intracellular Microbial Infection Biology (IMIB) Laboratory hosted at Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (ITQB-NOVA). I have performed postdocs at the Molecular Microbiology of Bacterial Pathogens Lab (P.I.: Rita Sobral), at Laboratory of Molecular Genetics (P.I.: H. de Lencastre) and at Microbial Stress Lab (P.I.: Sofia Pauleta). During these postdocs I was responsible for the introduction on new research lines in the host labs such as the production of bacterial cellulose for wound dressing applications and the development of copper and silver NHC conjugated compounds as antimicrobials against several pathogens. I have authored 9 peer-reviewed journal articles, 7 conference proceedings and 1 book chapter, among which 14 as first-author with a total of 408 citations (Google scholar). I have participated in 12 Research Grants both from national and international funding agencies, one as a Principal Investigator. My work was presented in 10 oral presentations in conferences and seminars and in 30 communications in panel in national and international conferences. I have extensive experience in supervision of undergraduate and graduate students with a total of 17 supervisions and co-supervisions of national and international students from bachelor degrees, master degrees, Erasmus program and MSc laboratory rotations. Concerning teaching activity, I was invited to be assistant in the module "Introduction to Microbiology, Microbial Genetics and Recombinant DNA Technology in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes" of the Medical Microbiology Master and I was teaching practical classes of the disciplines "Biochemistry of Foods" and "Chemistry and Biochemistry of Foods" from the Department of Chemistry of FCT-NOVA, offered to several BSc and MSc courses. I am an ad-hoc reviewer for PeerJ and PLOS ONE, and I have participated in 8 jury committees as main opponent in MSc and BSc examinations. I was also an evaluator of an international grant. I was recently awarded with a Research Grant, as PI, from the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) - Research Grant 2022, to study the role of a new bacteriocin system in S. aureus. I have always been involved in dissemination activities such as the ITQB-open day, Expo-FCT, European Researcher's night and the Feira Internacional de Ciência (FIC.A). I was also member of the Task Force for COVID-19, performing RT-PCR testing during the covid pandemics.