Elsa Loureiro completed her BSc in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) in 2021, 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, where she got a classification of 18, she presented a poster, at the 7th International Iberian Biophysics Congress entitled “Preparation of Large Uniflagellar Vesicles with encapsulated protein – comparison of different methodologies”. During this project, she acquired hands-on experience in liposome preparation, drug encapsulation, and various characterization techniques, including dynamic and electrophoretic (zeta potential) 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 an average 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. With this project, she attained hands-on experience in the structural and rheological characterization of nanomaterials, loading and release studies, and in-vitro cytotoxicity assays. Through this experience she acquired expertise in a wide range of techniques, such as micro-DSC, rheology, surface tension and cryo-SEM. She had the opportunity to share her findings at the 16th and 17th UPORTO Young Researchers Meetings, winning the “Best Oral Communication in Chemistry” prize at the latter. Additionally, she co-authored three posters 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, the manuscript entitled “Unraveling the self-assembly and molecular interactions of a bio-inspired, vesicle-forming surfactant with block copolymers of varying hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance” has been submitted to the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science and is currently under peer review. A second manuscript, “Smart thermo-responsive hydrogel with a block copolymer scaffold and self-assembled nano/micro tubes for topical delivery” is currently in preparation. Additionally, she is co-author of the research article “Tuning the formation of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals through the spacer length in 14-s-14 gemini surfactants”, submitted to the Journal of Molecular Liquids and also under review. She is currently working as a research fellow with Prof. Eduardo Marques' team on the FCT-funded project Smart4Vir (2022.05543.PTDC), where she has expanded her expertise in the characterization of amino acid-based surfactants and the development of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for gene delivery. In 2024, she participated in the FCUP Open Days. She further advanced her expertise by attending the “Nanoparticles for Radiotherapy” workshop organized by the iNanoTheRad center, University of Paris-Saclay. She has been a member of the Portuguese Biochemical and Chemical Societies, since 2021 and 2024, respectively. Alongside her academic accomplishments, she possesses three years of professional experience in a non-academic setting, where she gained valuable soft skills such as teamwork and adaptability.