Sandra Tenreiro is an Assistant Professor and Group Leader of the Degeneration and Ageing Lab at NMS-UNL. Her research focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in the context of ageing-related diseases, with a particular emphasis on retinal degeneration, using advanced human-based in vitro models, including retinal organoids and microphysiological systems. She is strongly motivated to develop human-relevant alternatives to animal models and to promote translational research. Since 2010, she has secured competitive funding as PI and Co-PI, having attracted approximately 1.5 M€ from national and international funding agencies (including FCT, EU, and HFSP). She actively collaborates with ophthalmologists and is involved in clinical research, including registered clinical studies (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06355830). She currently has one patent under review (PT118368 / EU 22217331.2). Sandra Tenreiro is Chair of the COST Action Retina4Future (CA25105), aiming to accelerate translation in retinal research, and Co-Coordinator of the MPS_NOVA Twinning Project, focused on advanced microphysiological systems and pluripotent stem cell technologies. She has published 65 peer-reviewed articles (˜5500 citations; H-index 34, Scopus) and has extensive experience in supervision, having mentored postdoctoral researchers, PhD and MSc students, and served on multiple thesis committees and examination juries. She holds a BSc in Biochemistry, an MSc in Cell Biology (University of Coimbra), and a PhD in Biotechnology (Instituto Superior Técnico). Her career includes two formal breaks related to maternity (three children, born in 2005 and 2010).