Adélia Varela graduated in Industrial Chemical Engineering (ISEL, 1998) and received a PhD in Biochemistry from the Applied and Environmental Mycology (AEM) group at ITQB NOVA, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in 2018. She has worked at INIAV, I.P. for over three decades, holding positions in the Analytical Chemistry and Soil Macronutrients Laboratories and, since 2013, in the Soil Microbiology Laboratory, integrating applied research, laboratory services, and training activities. Her professional trajectory integrates extensive experience in physicochemical and microbiological methods applied to soil characterization and monitoring, including pioneering work on electrodialytic treatment of contaminated soils in the 2000s. Between 2003 and 2013, she coordinated the Soil Macronutrients Laboratory, combining routine analytical services with applied research in soil fertility, soil quality, and electrodialytic remediation, while managing a team of four technical staff. During her PhD (2008–2018), within the framework of a NATO project, she carried out solid–liquid extraction of soil samples based on previously published work and quantified pentachlorophenol in liquid cultures using HPLC-DAD, and applied CLPP techniques to assess the functional diversity of soil microbial communities. Since 2022, she has been a member of INSOP/FAO – the International Network on Soil Pollution – contributing to the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and diagnostic tools for soil pollution assessment. She maintains scientific collaboration with the Applied and Environmental Mycology Laboratory (AEM, ITQB NOVA), resulting in scientific publications and articles in preparation. She has participated in several national (19) and international (2) research projects, notably the CorkMED project coordinated by INIAV, where she studies soil quality and functionality in mixed cork oak and stone pine forests within sustainable agroforestry systems. Adélia Varela is the author and co-author of national (8) and international (14) scientific articles, a book chapter, technical reports, and one Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and has disseminated her work through conference communications, including oral presentations and posters. She also collaborates in the training of students from different degree programs and serves as a reviewer and member of evaluation panels, contributing to the generation and dissemination of scientific knowledge while bridging laboratory research, international capacity building, and environmental sustainability.