Olga Maria Correia Chitas Ameixa obtained her PhD in Ecosystem Biology from the Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic in 2011. She is MSc in Sustainable Agriculture, University of Algarve (2007), and is graduated (Licenciatura) in Agronomic Engineering (2003). Currently, she is a researcher (CEECind) at the Department of Biology & CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies) at the University of Aveiro and an external collaborator at cE3c (Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group). Previously, she worked as a researcher at the Global Change Research Center, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, where she contributed to several international projects under the European Science Foundation (ESF) and Czech national funding bodies (GACR and MSMT). Her research focuses on nature-based solutions for environmental and societal challenges, as well as insect biodiversity. From 2018 to 2022, she was the Principal Investigator of the SUShI project, which explored insect biomass as a sustainable feed ingredient for aquaculture. This project was funded by FCT within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020, co-financed by FEDER. Since then, she has continued to develop this research line. She is also the national delegate and a member of two COST Actions in this field: Insect-IMP (CA22140), where she leads the working group on "mating control", and GIN-TONIC (CA23127), where she leads the working on "lipids, carbohydrates (energy ratios), and fat-soluble compounds such as sterols". Her work includes conducting insect biodiversity assessments in the Ria de Aveiro salt marshes, leading to several new records for the coastal Portuguese and Iberian regions. She has also investigated the use of these native insect species for insect meal production under the SUShI project, integrating her research on biodiversity and applied entomology. Between 2016 and 2017, she served as an Invited Assistant Professor of Entomology and Ecology at the University of Aveiro. From 2020 to 2024, she was a board member of the Master of Applied Ecology program at the Department of Biology. Currently, she teaches Biodiversity and Terrestrial Ecology and Urban Ecology while supervising one Posdoc, five PhD, two MSc, and one undergraduate student. In the past, she has supervised one PhD (defended), 11 MSc, 13 undergraduate students, and one Erasmus+ intern. She was also the Principal Investigator of RESTORE, a project on the phytoremediation of saline agricultural soils using native plant species, funded by CNRS, France. Additionally, she has participated in multiple projects, including LAGOONS (7th Framework Programme), MARSH-C-LEVEL (CNRS), PORBIOTA (FCT), POLLINATE (FCT), and PAMPitUP (Fundo Ambiental). From 2019 to 2022, she was the Convenor of the Working Group on Benefits and Risks of Exotic Biological Control Agents within the International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC/WPRS). She also serves as an external evaluator for the European Commission, Paris Region FP (France), National Portuguese Innovation Agency (ANI), and FCT (FCT/CAPES call). Currently, she is a member of the 4th EKLIPSE Knowledge Coordination Body, which fosters interactions between biodiversity science and policy, and the Co-chair of the Life ERIC Watch Thematic Services working group "Habitat Mapping of Ecosystem Services" which aims to advance habitat-based approaches for assessing and visualizing ecosystem services.