Rita Perfeito received her PhD in Cell Biology with top marks in 2012 from the University of Coimbra (3rd in PT rank). Her PhD project clarified the interplay between a-synuclein and several mechanisms underlying Parkinson's Disease pathology, particularly mitochondrial dysfunction and intracellular antioxidant defence impairment. In 2014, R. Perfeito moved to the Gene and Cell Therapies for the Brain group, headed by Prof. Pereira de Almeida, at CIBB (Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology), to work as a postdoctoral researcher. Here, she had the great opportunity to meet different research approaches, as the group is focused not only on disclosing disease mechanisms but also on developing innovative therapeutic methodologies (mainly through gene therapy and genetic edition) for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. In line with this, Rita decided to apply to the very competitive FCT call for postdoctoral fellowships, which she was awarded in 2015. During these years, R. Perfeito enrolled in several national and international projects as a team member, was awarded as Principal Investigator by NAF in 2020 and very recently by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (2022) to develop studies in Machado-Joseph disease. In 2019, Rita was hired Junior Investigator by CIBB, after a successful application in an international selection procedure. Furthermore, Rita was invited by Prof. Pereira de Almeida to be part of an ambitious international E-Rare consortium (SCA-CYP) composed of world-renowned scientists that aim to translate to the clinics a non-invasive approach of gene therapy to address neurodegenerative pathologies. Currently, Rita is author/co-author of more than 20 papers/book chapters/abstracts published in peer-reviewed international journals and has participated in several national and international meetings with oral and/or poster presentations. In the last 5 years, R. Perfeito has (co)supervised 4 master theses, integrated several jury committees and collaborated in supervising numerous graduate and undergraduate students. At present, she is also supervising a PhD student, who was awarded a PhD scholarship by FCT in 2022. As an important component of her scientific career, Rita Perfeito has extensively contributed as a lecturer in MSc and PhD programmes of the University of Coimbra and others. Furthermore, she has also participated in diverse science communication activities integrated into outreach programmes, including interviews, articles in newspapers and multimedia content development. PLEASE BE AWARE that Rita had two career breaks (in 2014 and 2017) due to pregnancies and the respective periods of maternity leave. Furthermore, R. Perfeito has also suspended her lab work for several months in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID19 pandemic, as to the imperative need to give support to her young children 4 and 7 years old, who stayed without school during the restrictions and lock-downs imposed by the Portuguese Government. All these interruptions seriously impact her scientific productivity.