My name is Miguel Alexandre Ferreira Pinto and I am a Portuguese researcher working at the Champalimaud Foundation. I studied Cellular and Molecular Biology at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. I then continued my academic career in Porto, where I did my Master's Degree in Oncology at Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto. In my master thesis I studied tumour immunology in the laboratory of Dr. Bruno Silva Santos at iMM. Under the supervision of Dra. Karine Serre. Following my master's degree, I started investigating cell competition in the laboratory of Dr. Eduardo Moreno at Fundação Champalimaud, where I am a PhD student at the moment. I am investigating since June 2018 mechanical cell competition (MCC), a type of cell-cell interaction mechanism that actively eliminates viable but compression-unfit cells, guaranteeing the overall fitness of a tissue. During my time in the laboratory, I participated in a research article published in the high impact factor journal, Nature. I also participated in several scientific events and presented two posters as a first author in national and internationals conferences. In June 2020 I was awarded a FCT PhD fellowship and a La Caixa Retaining fellowship to pursue my doctoral degree in crowding-induced cell competition. During my experience as a researcher, I developed biological techniques and skills, such as: - Cell culture - In vivo experimentation and mice handling - Tumour cell implantation in mice - In vivo and in vitro myeloid cell stimulation - Flow cytometry sample acquisition and data interpretation - Drosophila melanogaster husbandry - Analysis of adult thorax defects using imageJ (Fiji) - Notum live imaging using a confocal fluorescent microscope - LSM 880 confocal fluorescent microscope sample acquisition, analysis and results interpretation - Analysis of live imaging videos and marking of cells using imageJ (Fiji) - Developed group/team coordination skills and great interpersonal relationships During my undergraduate's degree, I was a founding member of the FCT cinema club, where I actively participated in the planning, organization and production of several activities. In collaboration with my colleagues we developed movie sessions and movie theme discussions, to promote and implement weekly group discussions about varied motion picture themes. I coordinated and participated in the divulgation of these projects, increasing my organization and developing creativity and interpersonal relations. I like to run as a hobby and used to practice swimming and football.