Renato has finished his master's degree in Biotechnology at the Centre of Biological Engineering of University of Minho, having done laboratory work on the development of a new method to detect an important bee disease, the American Foulbrood. His background studies also includes an Internship at the Centre of Nanotechnology and Smart Materials (CeNTI), where he developed functional coatings with antibacterial properties. Also, he completed a BSc in Biochemistry, where he extracted, isolated and characterized natural compounds from Sambucus nigra and Mentha Suaveleons. His first professional experience was as a fellow Researcher for BCTechnologies LDA on a dossier submitted to the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), requesting authorisation for the use of bacterial cellulose in food products. Currently, he is working on a PRR-funded project, SMARTgNOSTICS, where he is identifying and producing bacteriophage proteins capacle of recognizing pathogenic bacteria. To finance his university education, during his whole academic career he conciliated studies with professional work, which has made him an autonomous, responsible and dependable person, excellent at time management and multi-tasking on a daily basis.