I obtained my PhD at the University of Oxford, UK, in Dr. Madalena Tarsounas laboratory, studying the role of DNA damage responses in maintaining genomic stability and preventing tumorigenesis. After my PhD, driven by my interest in disease mechanism, I joined Dr. Miguel Soares laboratory at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), Portugal. I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in 2014 to address how regulation of iron-heme metabolism impacts steady-state and the establishment of disease tolerance to different types of infection. In 2019, I was awarded by FCT with an Assistant Researcher position and with a L’Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science to pursue a new line of research where I combined my expertise on DNA damage and oxidative stress and mechanisms of disease, particularly intra- and extracellular communication, tackling the mechanisms behind LAMA2-related muscular dystrophies. In 2022, with this line of work I was rewarded with a competitive tenure track position as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon. Throughout my career I have worked with a wide spectrum of in vitro (human and mouse cells) and in vivo (mouse models) models of disease (cancer, malaria, sepsis, iron deregulation, Lama2-deficiency). I have developed new cell lines using CRISPR-Cas9, lentiviral, retroviral or plasmid transfections. I have engaged in multiomics approaches including microRNA analysis, mRNA sequencing and metabolomics. This allowed me to gain crucial insights into disease mechanisms. I am member and co-leader of Working Group 5 of the COST Action “Bench to bedside transition for pharmacological regulation of NRF2 in noncommunicable diseases” BenBedPhar(CA-20121). In addition, I am member and ambassador in the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) and member of the Portuguese Cancer Research Association (ASPIC). I participated as Guest Editor in three special issues: Frontiers in Genetics, International Journal of Molecular Sciences and JoVE. I am also a reviewer for several international journals, including Cell Death and Disease, Cells, Antioxidants and Frontiers in Genetics. I have participated in science communication initiatives both within the research community, attending national and international conferences, where I presented my work both as oral communications (over 15) and posters (over 25). I have also engaged in various science outreach initiatives, being part of the book "Women in Science 2021" (Portugal), as well as participating in television and radio shows dedicated to science communication. I participated in science dissemination activities dedicated to schools and other lay audiences. I have been co-organizer of scientific events including the COST Action BenBedPhar 2023 Open day and the Second Annual Joint Postdoctoral Meeting Lisbon 2015. I have supervised 10 MSc students and currently I am supervising 4 MSc students and 4 PhD students. My role in teaching started in 2013, as an invited lecturer at Faculty of Sciences (University of Lisbon), first teaching Biomolecular Methods and later also Molecular and Cell Biology of Cancer. As a direct consequence of my participation in the second topic, I am the author of a book chapter (Springer International Publishing 2019). Since 2020, until my recent appointment as an Assistant Professor, I was lecturer at Ciências in Physiology (BSc level) and Genes and Molecules in Development and Seminars in Evolutionary Biology and Development (both at MSc level). SCIENTIFIC METRICS SCOPUS (February 2025) No. of accepted publications 23 No. of first author publications 9 No. of last author publications 3 Times Cited 1039 H Index 14 Average Citations per Item 45 Articles with impact factor >10 11