Maria Casquinha obtained her Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Pharmacy at the University of Coimbra, in the year of 2020, with a score classification of 15/20, solemnly recognized by the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra (FFUC) as the best student in the class of 2020 (previous recognitions include a Municipality School Merit Award, for her secondary school achievements). Throughout her Bachelor's, Maria delve into research, by sporadic collaboration in accumulation assays to assess the inhibitory effect of antiepileptic drugs over BCRP, for a doctoral thesis in Pharmaceutical Sciences supervised by Professor Ana Fortuna, in the Pharmacology Laboratory of FFUC. In 2022, Maria completed her Master's degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell biology (CNC) at the University of Coimbra, achieving an excellent academic record of 18/20. During her Master's, she joined the Neuronal Circuits and Behavior Group, where she developed her thesis on how IL-4 impacts microglia functions over neuronal circuits under the supervision of Doctors Joana Guedes and João Peça, experts in neurobiology. This work formally established molecular axes between the immune and neurological component, which underlies the epidemiological link between allergies and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Notably, her work has significantly contributed to a publication of which she is a co-author published at Neuron (10.1016/j.neuron.2023.09.031), as well as the elaboration of 2 posters presented at highly relevant meetings in the field of neurobiology, namely the XVII SPN Meeting (2021) and FENS Forum 2022 (2022). In 2022, Maria was awarded with a Research fellowship (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-181266) under the scope of the MJDEdit project - "Gene editing systems for the ATXN3 gene: A therapy for Machado-Joseph's disease" - at the Vector and Gene Therapy group, under the supervision of Professor Luís Pereira de Almeida, an expert in this field. Most recently, Maria enrolled in the Doctoral Programme in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (awarded with a FCT grant). During her career, Maria made presentations in the context of Lab meetings; completed the VI Modular Training in Laboratory Animal Science correspondant to FELASA B (rodents) - certified by DGAV; performed 3 1-month Laboratory Rotations, to gain competencies in molecular and cellular techniques; attended 10 Meetings and was co-author of 3 posters - 1 in the IV MAD Meeting (2024), in the field of Metabolism. Overall, Maria acquired knowledge in a vast set of methodologies, including techniques such as flow cytometry, cell culture, qRT-PCR and ELISA assays, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, confocal microscopy, genotyping and behavior experiments. In addition to high experience in rodent experimentation, Maria is proficient in supporting mouse colony management and electrophysiology. Moreover, Maria has great oral communication skills, by collaborating with the Department of Portuguese Language and Culture of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and showcasing of her Thesis work; organizational/managerial capabilities, including problem solving, in academic contexts and in general team work scenarios, gained by her volunteering experience at Instituto Universitário Justiça e Paz, where she coordinated a team of people, under several occasions.