Rafaela Dias Oliveira completed her BSc in Biochemistry with a final classification of 16 (sixteen) out of 20 by the University of Minho in 2019. During the bachelor project, supervised by Dra. Maria João Sousa (Department of Biology, University of Minho), RDO evaluated the possible application of Torulaspora delbrueckii in bread and wine fermentation. Later, in 2022, she completed her MSc in Molecular Genetics with a final classification of 18 (eighteen) out of 20, at the same university. During her master, RDO attended three advanced courses, namely “Protein Degradation and Trafficking in Health and Disease”, “Metabolic Engineering”, and “Regulated Cell Death and Autophagy”. In the 2nd year, she also elaborated her master's thesis entitled “Assessing the in vitro Antimicrobial and Antitumor Activity of Portuguese Propolis”, which resulted in her first experimental publication as first author: “Portuguese Propolis Antitumoral Activity in Melanoma Involves ROS Production and Induction of Apoptosis” (2022). This work was performed under the supervision of Dra. Fátima Baltazar (ICVS, University of Minho) and Dra. Cristina Aguiar (Department of Biology, University of Minho). She is also the co-author of the experimental article “An Insight on the Biomedical Potential of Portuguese Propolis from Gerês" (2022) and, more recently, the second author of the experimental article “Phenolic Compounds Contribution to Portuguese Propolis Anti-Melanoma Activity” (2023). During her student years, she attended several lectures, conferences, and workshops, deepening her knowledge in the most diverse areas. Additionally, she submitted abstracts and presented posters at some of these events. RDO was responsible for the co-supervision of two bachelor projects and one master's project, helping with the development/planning of the experimental work and helping with the writing of the report. Lastly, besides the acquired skills, during these academic years, RDO also developed several capabilities vital in a well-driven researcher, for instance, critical and creative thinking, persistence, organization, responsibility, communication, and problem-solving skills. After holding her master's degree, for six months she was a volunteer researcher at Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), being enrolled in the project "Deciphering the role of serine protease inhibitor SPINT2 managing melanoma tumorigenesis and therapeutic response", supervised by Dr. Marta Viana-Pereira (ICVS, University of Minho). More recently, in January of 2023, she was awarded by Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro with a research grant for the project "Evaluation of Polygenic Risk Score in Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Genome-Wide Association Study" (Bolsa Oncologia Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro - NRN 2023). Currently, she is working on this project being her scientific interest mainly related to cancer biomarkers, polygenic risk scores, admixed populations, inequalities, and genetic variations, such as SNPs.