My name is Vasco Valente, and I have a bachelor's degree (1st cycle) in Biotechnology (2019, final grade: 15 out of 20), and a master's degree (2nd cycle) in Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology (2021, final grade: 17 out of 20) both by the University of Aveiro (UA, Portugal). During my BSc studies, I worked in the field of fermentation processes with the Cupriavidus necator bacteria to produce bioplastics, namely (poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs)), under the supervision of Professor Luísa Serafim (Assistant Professor) and Professor Dmitry Evtyugin (Associate Professor with Habilitation) from the Department of Chemistry, UA. In this period, I attended the "CICECO Meeting 2019 - Where Science meets Society" held at UA with a poster communication entitled "Production of bioplastics by Cupriavidus necator using forest residues" and presented a final bachelor's dissertation titled "Production of biodegradable materials from wood industry waste". During my MSc studies, I worked in the field of lignocellulosic-based materials, specifically in transparent wood-derived functional materials, under the supervision of Doctor Carmen Freire (Principal Researcher with Habilitation) and Doctor Ricardo Pinto (Doctorate Researcher) from the Department of Chemistry, UA. Over this period, I acquired expertise in the development and characterization of biobased materials by several techniques (e.g., ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), infrared (IR) and fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and static and dynamic mechanical properties), and presented a master dissertation entitled "Preparation of optically transparent Eucalyptus spp. wood as a substrate for new electrochromic materials". Furthermore, presented a poster communication titled "Optically transparent Eucalyptus spp. wood as a substrate for the development of innovative functional materials" at the 5th EPNOE Scientist Meeting 2022 that was held in September 2022 at UA, Portugal. From March 2022 to March 2023, I worked as a research grantee at CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (UA) in the BioPol4fun Research Group (Innovation in biopolymer based functional materials and bioactive compounds), which is one of the most important Portuguese teams on the development and applications of cellulose and other biopolymer-based materials. As a research grantee, I my work was developed in the field of cellulose-based materials in the scope of the national project PTDC/BII-BIO/1901/2021 under the supervision of Doctor Carla Vilela (Principal Researcher, 2021.01571.CEECIND). I presented a poster comunication in the scope of my work developed during the research grant titled "Preparation and Characterization of Sphere-shaped Cellulose Particles via Dissolution in [Emim][Ac]:DMSO and Regeneration in Water" at the "CICECO Meeting 2022 - Where Science meets Society" held in October 2022 at UA, being awarded a honorable mention. Parallel to my BSc and MSc studies, I have always participated in several extracurricular activities, namely by volunteering in the organization of the "Competições Nacionais de Ciência 2018" from PmatE/UA, being a sports player at the UA-Biotecnology volleyball (2017-2021) and football (2021) teams, and participating/attending various lectures, conferences, and workshops dealing with distinct science related topics.