Lénia Isabel Alfaiate Rodrigues graduated in Biology from the University of Évora (2009), holds a Master in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Algarve (2012), and completed her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Évora (2017). Her professional career includes roles as research fellow, laboratory manager, and quality assistant in the olive oil sector. In November 2019, she joined the LIVESEDD European project at the Molecular Biology Laboratory, University of Évora, focusing on seed improvement for organic agriculture. She conducted calorimetry tests and evaluated metabolic changes at the seed proteome (SDS-PAGE and Western Blot for AOX expression) and transcriptome (AOX transcript quantification by RT-qPCR). Between 2021 and 2024, she held a Superior Technician contract at MED, followed by a short period as Invited Assistant Researcher, and she currently maintains a Superior Technician position. Despite the contractual designation, her role has been fully research-oriented. She actively contributes to project conception, experimental design, coordination of work packages, supervision of students, data analysis, and dissemination of results, assuming responsibilities typically associated with researcher-level positions. Her work at MED, within the Plant Genetics and Biotechnology group, focuses on molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress responses, with emphasis on proteomics, metabolomics, reactive oxygen species, oxidative enzymes, and the effects of biostimulants on plant physiology. She has been involved in multiple national and international projects, notably “Application of biostimulants from Opuntia ficus-indica to grapevine to mitigate climate change” and ALCAROB – Applicability of carob tree cultivation for sustainable agriculture in Alentejo. She was also a volunteer member of the technical-scientific team of the COVID-19 Test Unit at the University of Évora. Over the last years, she has actively participated in numerous national and international scientific meetings, presenting 67 posters and 19 oral communications, with abstracts published in official Books of Abstracts. These presentations addressed innovative topics such as molecular regulation of de novo morphogenesis processes, physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying plant resilience to drought, temperature extremes, and salinity, the use of biostimulants and natural compounds to enhance plant stress tolerance, and the application of metabolomics as a phenotyping tool for discriminating grapevine cultivars. She has published 19 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including 10 as first author and 2 as corresponding author, and 4 book chapters. She currently supervises and co-supervises eight MSc students (out of a total of nine) and two PhD students, while over the course of her career she has guided 18 undergraduate students, eight extracurricular interns, and eight summer interns in Biochemistry, Biology, Agronomy, and Biotechnology. Recently, she obtained approval for the patent “METHOD TO DETERMINE TASTE SENSITIVITY BASED ON SALIVARY BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS”. Since 2023, she has taught practical courses in Cell Biology, Plant Biotechnology, Plant Genetics and Breeding, and Biotechnology, and by invitation, courses on biostimulants and their impact on plant physiology. Her most frequent scientific keywords are: Salivary Proteomics, Calorespirometry, FT-NIR Spectrometry, and Plant Proteomics and Metabolomics.