Maria João Cabaço completed her master’s degree in Bioengineering, with a specialisation in Biological Engineering, in July 2024, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). Her academic and research path has focused on sustainable bioprocesses, microbial systems, and biomass valorisation. During her undergraduate studies in Bioengineering, she undertook a curricular internship at Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP), where she applied FTIR spectroscopy to wine quality control, contributing to less polluting, and time-saving analytical methodologies. During her master’s degree, Maria was involved in a research project at LEPABE (FEUP), investigating the effects of methylparaben on Stenotrophomonas maltophilia communication and cooperation mechanisms, studying the impact of pharmaceutical and cosmetic pollutants on water distribution systems. She further strengthened her research experience through a 5-month ERASMUS+ programme internship at the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University (Belgium), where she studied the anaerobic fermentation of Clostridium luticellarii, in a project that aimed to evaluate alternatives to the production of fossil-derived bulk chemicals by enhancing bacterial CO2 fixation rates. Her master’s dissertation, developed at LSRE-LCM (FEUP), focused on the valorisation of chestnut shell residues through the extraction of bioactive compounds and their microencapsulation using chitosan/gum arabic systems. This work optimised extraction and encapsulation processes, contributing to the conversion of agro-industrial waste into value-added ingredients. The work was presented as an oral communication at the workshop “Valorisation of by-products and/or agri-food waste” and as a poster at the Dare2Change event, which promotes reflection on technological transformation and value chain innovation in the agri-food sector. A publication based on this work has been submitted for publication to an international journal. Since May 2025, Maria has been working as a research fellow at LSRE-LCM in the project “Lignin upcycling on biodegradable composites for food packaging”, focusing on lignin recovery from industrial pulping liquors and its incorporation into PLA-based materials for biodegradable composite development.