Beatriz Pinto de Sousa (BS, Ciência Vitae 441C-2BD0-C280) was born in Viseu (2000) and graduated in Biotechnology (2021) at the University of Aveiro (UA) in Portugal. During the graduation studies (2000), BS enrolled in the international mobility Erasmus program for a period of six months at the Bialystok University of Technology (Poland). This fruitful experience allowed her to acquire complementary laboratorial skills, improve her English communication abilities and experience different cultural and scientific environments. In 2023, BS obtained a MSc in Molecular Biotechnology and Bioengineering at UA. During the MSc first year, BS engaged in a volunteer research program at CICECO- Aveiro Institute of Materials and Chemistry Department (UA), to explore the surface chemistry of molybdenum disulfide 2D substrates as supporting materials for colloidal gold nanoparticles. The resulting nanocomposites were then investigated for the optical detection of biomarkers associated to sports performance monitoring. This experience sparked her interest in nanomaterials chemistry, prompting her to pursue further research in the topic that led to the master's thesis entitled "Two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide nanostructures for the detection of biomarkers using Raman spectroscopy". This research experience enabled her to improve her knowledge in synthesizing 2D nanomaterials and gain hands-on experience in several characterization techniques, including electron microscopy techniques, confocal Raman microscopy, and vibrational spectroscopy. Still, during the MSc studies, BS has presented her work in poster communications (two posters as first author) in three national conferences (15º Encontro Nacional de Química-Física/online; Ciência/Aveiro; XXVIII Encontro Nacional da SPQ/Aveiro). In the last year of the MSc she was also involved in the Erasmus+ program (Weicherdange, Luxembourg) via a short mission to engage young citizens in political participation transversal to several European countries. In September 2023, BS started working as a research fellow under CICECO's Strategic Project (UIDB/50011/2020) in the Department of Chemistry at the UA. Her research interests led her to explore 2D nanomaterials based on transition metal disulfides (TMDs) obtained by sustainable liquid-phase exfoliation methods. Building on previous training, BS was interested in exploring interfacial processes involving the chemistry of 2D TMD and specific biomarkers, with potential implications for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This led BS not only to carry out a systematic survey of the literature on the topic but also to critically assess future uses of TMDs as SERS substrates. This endeavour culminated in the publication of the paper titled 'Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Using 2D Materials,' with BS as the first author, selected for publication in Chemistry-A European Journal as a concept article. Also, her recent research was presented in two poster communications in international conferences (IBER 2023/Coimbra; 9th Confocal Raman Imaging Symposium/Ulm, Germany) and one oral communication in 1º LUCES Training School in Kaiserslautern, Germany with the title "2D materials functionalized with fluorescent macrocycles as sensing platforms for biological aplications". During her research fellowship BS also attended a non-degree awarding course entitled: “Advanced course in scientific investigation” at the UA. This research culminated in the publication of her second first-author paper entitled: "One-step synthesis of few-layer MoS2/Au nanostructures mediated by colloidal gold exfoliation with potential for surface-enhanced Raman scattering applications" published as a full-length article in Applied Surface Science. In 2024, BS received a PhD grant (2024.02680.BD) for the development of a thesis entitled " Waste valorisation of solid lubricants: from transition metal disulfides to optical biosensors".