Catarina Gonçalves is an Invited Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja and a researcher at the Sport Physical Activity and Health Research & Innovation Centre (SPRINT) and the Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC). She completed her PhD in Human Kinetics at the University of Évora in 2024, with distinction and honours, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, focusing on cardiac rehabilitation and exercise prescription in cardiovascular diseases. Her research focuses on exercise physiology, cardiovascular rehabilitation, active ageing, and health promotion, with particular emphasis on clinical trials, systematic reviews with meta-analyses, and exercise-based interventions in clinical and older populations. She has also developed clinical activity as an exercise physiologist in cardiac rehabilitation and contributed to the implementation of structured cardiac rehabilitation programmes in Portugal. She has teaching experience in higher education since 2018, as well as experience in coordinating and participating in national and international research projects, including Horizon Europe initiatives. She supervises master's dissertations and participates in academic juries. She is the author of scientific publications in international journals, co-author of book chapters, manuscript reviewer and guest editor, and a regular participant in national and international scientific conferences. Her work has been recognised through scientific awards and distinctions in the fields of Sport Sciences and Health.