I earned my PhD from ICBAS, University of Porto, in 2013 through a mixed FCT fellowship between Portugal and Norway. Since then, my focus has been on studying plant responses to environmental constraints and investigating the molecular interactions between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to enhance tolerance to external stresses. Currently based at the University of Évora (UE), I am a part of the Molecular Biology Lab (MED/UE), collaborating with researchers with diverse expertise in studying plant molecular mechanisms under stress, including epigenetics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics responses. My research primarily revolves around wet lab epigenetics and bioinformatic analysis of high-throughput sequencing data from plants and AMF. In 2013, I participated in the IAPP-Marie Curie Action (AGRO-AMF-AOX, 533 942), which focused on identifying polymorphisms in stress-related genes in AMF isolates of different origins. From 2016 to January 2019, I was a post-doctoral researcher funded by FCT, contributing to the Portugal (Alentejo) 2020 project aimed at improving pasture production in acid soils in montado. Our findings highlighted the impact of manganese stress on wheat bioprotection and molecular responses altered by root colonization with various AMF communities. I collaborate with researchers from various labs including Plant Virology, Plant Mycology, Plant Breeding, Biotechnology Lab, Entomology Lab at MED/UE, LEAF/Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), University of Lisbon, and Institut de Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentàries IRTA, Spain. I have contributed to several projects, including "A new phenotyping tool calorespirometry and novel molecular markers to assess the effectiveness of mycorrhizal fungi in improving heat and drought tolerance in vineyards" (PTDC/AGRPRO/0676/2014), "Olive fly management through symbiosis-based strategies: looking for Trojan horse candidates" (PTDC/ASP-PLA/030650/2017), and "Molecular basis of resistance/susceptibility of Vitis vinifera L. to wood infection by fungal trunk pathogens in Alentejo region" (funded by MED - 2020). These collaborations have resulted in several publications, where I am first or corresponding author. Since February 2019, I have been a contracted researcher at MED, UE. Recently, I was granted a contract as an Assistant Researcher through the 2023 Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus - FCT. Additionally, I have (co)authored 28 papers, predominantly in Q1 journals, accumulating over 500 citations with an h-index of 14 (Scopus). I regularly review scientific manuscripts and have edited a special issue on Biology (IF 5.079, Q1). Currently, I am editing the special issue "Molecular Advances in Plant Plasticity upon Abiotic Stresses" for the journal International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IF 5.6, Q1). Furthermore, I serve as a Reviewer Editor for the Plant Symbiotic Interactions section in Frontiers in Plant Science. Since 2019, I have been lecturing on "Melhoramento e Biotecnologia Vegetal" (Master in Agronomics) and "Plant Biotechnology" (Degree in Biotechnology) at UE. In our lab, I co-supervise 1 PhD student, supervise 4 MSc students (2 co-supervisor), and guide 7 bachelor students (three supervisor).