Sónia Duarte (SD) earned a degree in Biology Applied to Terrestrial Animals in 2005, with a final grade of 15/20. Her graduation thesis focused on oophagous parasitoids of the tomato fruit worm, receiving a score of 19/20. Following this, she worked at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia/UL on an AGRO project (until 2007), collecting and identifying arthropods in vineyards and pome fruit orchards under different production systems. After the project ended, she took on smaller roles in pest management before completing her Master’s in Ecology in 2010. In 2008, SD joined LNEC as a research fellow, marking the beginning of her career in termite management strategies and the biological degradation of wood and other biomaterials. During this time, she participated in several projects and, in 2014, began her Ph.D. on symbiotic flagellate protists of subterranean termites. Her research involved collaborations with institutions such as NIBIO (Norway), the University of the Azores, cE3c, and the University of Évora. She successfully defended her Ph.D. in 2018, receiving unanimous distinction with honors. Her Ph.D. research deepened her expertise in wood biodegradation, termite biology, and ecological management, particularly in understanding the symbiotic flagellate protist communities in termites. The challenges in this research field highlighted the need for collaborative approaches (Duarte et al., 2018). After completing her Ph.D., SD was awarded a short-term research scholarship at LNEC, focusing on wood biodegradation. Later, due to limited research opportunities in her field, she transitioned into education, initially in termite management and subsequently in environmental education. In 2019, she secured an FCT project contract as a Junior Researcher at ISA, working on stored-product insect pests. Over 3.5 years, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project produced numerous publications, oral communications, and posters, demonstrating the team's commitment and SD’s significant contributions. Following this, she returned to LNEC, where her previous contributions were highly valued. Although now contracted as a Senior Technician, she continues to conduct research and scientific work comparable to a Post-Doc, leading ongoing projects (such as CONSTBIO II) and shaping future research directions, while being responsible for the Biodegradation Prevention Unit, which includes two laboratories (for fungi and for insect testing). While transitioning between research areas affected her publication output, it strengthened her adaptability, networking, and organizational skills, proving to be an invaluable professional experience.