Raquel holds a BSc degree in Microbiology from the Faculty of Biotechnology, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (2004) and a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Pharmacy, U.Porto (2014). Throughout her career, she has consistently demonstrated her commitment to democratizing science and catalyzing community-driven initiatives, particularly in rural regions. Her work challenges the intersection of academia and society, emphasizing the importance of making scientific knowledge accessible and applicable to underserved communities. Raquel has played an instrumental role in developing and facilitating educational training programs in SciComm for researchers, contributing to the success of initiatives as SciComm4All. Additionally, she has led and facilitated educational programs in elementary schools to promote literacy in microbiology, as 'The Invisible Life of Bacteria', in secondary schools to promote literacy in SciComm, as 'The Science of Science Communication', and in professional courses to promote literacy in health, as the Ser-Pro initiative. Moreover, Raquel's instrumental role in fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and her active involvement in international networks like EuroScitizen underscores her commitment to public engagement through science. Raquel's commitment to driving positive change and empowering underserved regions through science and education is exemplified by her instrumental leadership in founding the Arma-Sci NGO. As the president of Arma-Sci since its inception, she has led efforts to open science to schools and to the broader community, facilitating collaborative initiatives aimed at tackling local and pressing sustainability challenges. Her leadership skills are also demonstrated through projects like GOMA (Gomes Teixeira Science Academy), which she co-founded and co-coordinates. GOMA serves as a platform for catalysing positive change through scientific engagement, bringing together the Armamar public school cluster, the community, academia and civil society to address relevant local challenges and promote active citizenship. An exemplary demonstration of the impact of her initiatives was her leadership in organising the first edition of the decentralised European Researchers' Night. This initiative not only demonstrated the importance of scientific engagement in rural communities, but also highlighted Raquel's ability to drive meaningful scientific initiatives in these environments. It received several recognitions, including in the prestigious PLOS SciComm and in AESIS (Network for Societal Impact of Science) with the articles "Promoting science for all: how European Researchers' Night could unlock science in rural Portugal" and "Could the European Researchers' Night be the key to unleashing societal empowerment in rural areas? '. Academically, Raquel is a committed researcher at the U.Porto/FLUP and an esteemed international expert in science management and communication. She is also member of UCIBIO (Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit) Porto. Raquel's success in securing individual fellowships highlights her exceptional merit and expertise. Notably, she has achieved highly competitive and prestigious contracts such as the Assistant Researcher contract under the CEEC-INST/2018 program and the FCT Contract Program. She has also received a PhD scholarship from the FCT and an exchange scholarship from the U.Porto. Throughout her career, Raquel has received 12 awards in recognition of her outstanding contributions to science, SciComm and social entrepreneurship. Her involvement in dozens of research projects funded by entities as the European Commission and FCT illustrates her active involvement and significant impact in advancing scientific research. Raquel's commitment to scientific research is also evident in her portfolio of hundreds of publications and communications in scientific papers, books, proceedings and educational contents.In addition, she had supervised 6 under- and post-graduated students.