Mariana Fontoura Vassal obtained her BSc in Bioengineering from the University of Beira Interior in 2019. Her final graduation project on "Dense bioceramic coatings for metallic implants" was conducted at the Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science of the University of Beira Interior, under the supervision of Prof. Abílio Silva and Dr. João Nunes Pereira. At the end of 2021, she obtained her MSc in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Aveiro. Her master's thesis "Different strategies to attenuate the male reproductive toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles" was developed at the Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), under the guidance of Prof. Maria de Lourdes Pereira, and Prof. Sandra Rebelo. There, she gained expertise in various laboratory techniques, namely, mammalian cell culture, cell viability assays, microscopy, immunoblotting, immunocytochemistry, oxidative stress assays, and so on. During 2022, she worked as an R&D Engineer at Spinner Dynamics, where researched safer, more effective, and sustainable disinfection solutions. Among her duties, she was in charge of defining the requirements and specifications for new products, preparing R&D project proposals, preparing technical-scientific reports, and interacting with universities, research institutions, and different companies. As of 2023, she is a researcher with a fellowship in the scope of the project 'BRI2 role in neuronal differentiation and the underlying molecular mechanisms: towards an innovative regenerative therapy for Alzheimer's Disease at the Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro. Mariana authors 5 full papers in international peer review journals.