Nuno Alexandre Santos Oliveira is a research assistant and PhD student at UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto. He is interested in the complex pathophysiology of neurodegeneration, including subcellular phenomena and cell-cell interactions, specifically in the context of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Scientific and Professional Path: In 2023, Nuno was awarded a doctoral INPhINIT fellowship by the "la Caixa" Foundation, to study the role of non-motor neurons in ALS at UCIBIO, in collaboration with i3S-UP, iMM-FMUL, and UCL. Previously, Nuno was a research fellow at the UCIBIO Mitochondria and Neurobiology Lab, where his MSc thesis was supervised by Prof. Jorge Ascenção Oliveira and focused on zebrafish models of sporadic ALS. This work gave rise to 2 first-author scientific publications. Academic path and distinctions: In 2017, Nuno was the candidate with the highest classification to apply to the University of Porto. There, he completed the BSc and MSc in Bioengineering - Molecular Bioengineering with top grades (19/20, ECTS A), receiving a merit grant from DGES, awarded to the top 0.2% students in Portuguese universities. During his MSc studies, Nuno took part in an International Research Traineeship at Universiteit Twente, Netherlands, under supervision of Prof. Jeroen Leijten, focusing on the development of microfluidic models of epithelial basement membranes. In 2020, Nuno was awarded the first prize in Pharma Start and Solve, a competition in health innovation promoted by AEFFUP, AEFEUP and Glintt. Civic Involvement, Event organisation and Outreach: In addition to academic and scientific work, Nuno has taken part in several other projects. Currently, Nuno is active in the UCIBIO doctoral student association (BRIDGE) and a student member of the Portuguese Physiological Society. Previously, he helped organise MitoPorto, an international meeting on Mitochondrial physiology, redox biology, and genetics. During his MSc studies, he was a member of the Pedagogy and Training department of the ICBAS-UP student association, where he organised training activities and extracurricular internships for the students. Additionally, Nuno was a member and president of the general assembly board of NEB-FEUP/ICBAS (U. Porto Bioengineering students association), where conceptualised and implemented key scientific sessions of the largest student-led Bioengineering event in Portugal. He was also a regular contributing author to the BioNOW! Initiative, which aimed to promote public understanding and awareness of science.