Lúcia Nova (LN) holds a BSc in Nutrition Sciences (2022, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Porto) and an MSc in Public Health (2025, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto). She presents an interdisciplinary background, with her academic and scientific trajectory centred on public and environmental health and sustainable food systems, focusing on food and environmental microbiology within a One Health framework. Her MSc thesis addressed the diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the gut microbiome of healthy adults, contributing to understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in community settings. Since 2024, LN has been a member of the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit (UCIBIO) -Porto (Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto), integrating the BacT_Drugs Research Lab as a research fellow in the FCT-funded project “SMARTKITCHEN: Next-Gen Microbial Analysis for Predictive Environmental Monitoring and Biocontrol to Transform Food Safety in Large-Scale Food Services” (2024.13614.PEX). Her work focuses on food safety and AMR in food-processing environments. She has developed advanced skills in classical and molecular microbiology, including bacterial isolation and characterization, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, PCR, and DNA extraction for Sanger and whole-genome sequencing. She is also proficient in WGS data analysis (AMR, virulence and plasmids) using bioinformatics tools, and in statistical analysis (SPSS, Excel). Within this context, she was awarded an Erasmus+ mobility grant (2025/26) to strengthen competencies in metagenomics in collaboration with University of León partners. LN has experience in foodservice environments, including hygiene monitoring and microbiological safety assessment, providing familiarity with operational settings and interaction with kitchen staff and managers, which is critical for the implementation of real-world research projects. LN is currently an Invited Assistant Professor (21.4%) at FCNAUP, where she teaches laboratory classes in Basic (1st semester) and Food (2nd semester) Microbiology in the BSc in Nutrition Sciences, contributing to training future professionals in food safety and microbiology. At the international level, she is an external researcher in the Erasmus+ CBHE project “TecBioFood: Expertise and Technology for São Tomé and Príncipe: Bioresources for Food”, aimed at strengthening higher education in food science and technology in São Tomé and Príncipe. Her contributions include data analysis, scientific writing, and the organisation of training activities. Through an Erasmus+ mobility (MOBILE24), she delivered on-site training in Food Microbiology and supported the implementation of the TecBioFood laboratory. LN is a certified nutritionist (CP5469N) actively engaged in science communication and academic initiatives since her studies. During the bachelor, she participated in MicroMundo@UPorto, a citizen science and service-learning initiative promoting awareness on AMR at community-schools. Currently, LN supervises student volunteers. She also coordinated the FCNAUP Student Association’s academic journal (2020–2022). Her scientific output includes 16 communications at national and international conferences (10 as first author), including an award for 2nd Best Oral Communication. She has contributed to four peer-reviewed publications, including two first-author papers, reflecting active scientific productivity, as well as technical reports and book chapters. She also has experience in applied research in food safety monitoring and public health work (e.g., C2S project; community-nutrition at Maia’s primary schools). LN demonstrates an interdisciplinary trajectory combining research, teaching, and societal impact, with a strong commitment to advancing evidence-based practices in environmental microbiology and sustainable food systems, and a clear orientation towards an academic research career.