Elsa Loureiro completed her BSc in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) in 2021, graduating with a final grade of 16. She received the 3% Best Students Award in recognition of her academic performance in 2018-2019. During her BSc final project, classified with 18, she presented a poster, at the 7th International Iberian Biophysics Congress, regarding her research work “Preparation of Large Uniflagellar Vesicles with encapsulated protein - comparison of different methodologies”. During this project, she acquired hands-on experience in liposome preparation, protein encapsulation, and various characterization techniques, including zeta potential and dynamic light scattering. In 2021, she pursued a Master´s Degree in Nanomaterials Science and Technology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), which she concluded with a final grade of 17. Her master thesis, “Stimuli-responsive hybrid polymer/surfactant hydrogel for topical applications”, was supervised by Prof. Eduardo Marques (CIQUP-UPorto) and Prof. Andreia Gomes (CBMA-UMinho) and was graded with 19. This project enabled her to acquire expertise in structural and rheological characterization of nanomaterials, loading and release studies, and in-vitro cytotoxicity assays. The master program also equipped her with hands-on experience in data science and machine learning. She presented her thesis findings at the 16th and 17th UPORTO Young Researchers Meetings, winning the “Best Oral Communication in Chemistry” prize at the latter. Additionally, three posters based on her research work were presented at international conferences: the 16th Mediterranean Conference on Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis (MEDICTA 2023), the 37th European Colloid and Interface Society Conference (ECIS 2023), and the 10th Iberian Meeting on Colloids and Interfaces (RICI X). Based on her thesis results, she has co-authored two research papers published in Q1-journals: “Unravelling the self-assembly and molecular interactions of a bio-inspired, vesicle-forming surfactant with block copolymers of varying hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance” published in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.139102 ); and “Hybrid hydrogel driven by inversely coupled thermogelation: Integrating self-assembled surfactant tubes with a block copolymer scaffold for smart delivery” (DOI:10.1016/j.mtchem.2026.103362) published in Materials Today Chemistry. Additionally, she is a co-author of another Q1-journal paper entitled “Tuning the formation of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals through the spacer length in 14-s-14 gemini surfactants” (DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2025.128334) published in the Journal of Molecular Liquids. In 2024, she contributed to science outreach activities by participating in the FCUP Open Days. She has also worked as a research fellow in Prof. Eduardo Marques' team on the FCT-funded project Smart4Vir (2022.05543.PTDC), where she expanded her expertise in the characterization of amino acid-based surfactants and the development of stimuli-responsive lipoplexes for gene delivery. More recently, she was awarded a research fellowship under the ND4QTECH project (NORTE2030-FEDER-02708200) within Prof. Eduardo Marques' team, reinforcing her research profile in advanced functional nanomaterials. She is a member of the Portuguese Biochemical Society since 2021 and the Portuguese Chemical Society since 2024. Alongside her academic accomplishments, she possesses three years of professional experience in a non-academic setting, where she gained valuable soft skills namely teamwork and adaptability.