I graduated in Biomedical Laboratory Sciences from the School of Health of Porto in 2022, obtaining dual professional licenses in Clinical Analysis and Public Health, as well as Pathology, Cytology, and Thanatology. In 2024, I completed my Master’s in Molecular Genetics at the School of Sciences, University of Minho, where I developed my dissertation as part of the APTAcoli project at the National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research (INIAV). My research, titled “Aptamers for blocking F18+ enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli”, involved optimizing and validating a molecular method for detecting key virulence factors in Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), including fimbriae and toxins. I also applied the SELEX methodology to isolate specific aptamers targeting ETEC fimbriae. Currently, I am a PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Minho, in collaboration with INIAV, where I focus on developing aptamers against Escherichia coli Shiga toxins. My laboratory work encompasses bioinformatics for genomic data analysis, SELEX methodologies, aptamer library evaluation using Next-Generation Sequencing, aptamer affinity determination via real-time PCR, and other molecular biology techniques. I was awarded a PhD Studentship (2023 Call for PhD Studentships) from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).