Anabela Borges graduated in Biology holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Biology, and a PhD in Chemical and Biological Sciences. Currently, she is an Assistant Researcher at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto and member of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE). Her main research interests are related to the problematic of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation in bio(medical) fields. Her research is focused on the development of new antibacterial agents and strategies to fight bacterial resistance and biofilm-associated infections (e.g., chronic wounds, pulmonary), with special interest in phytochemical compounds and antipathogenic/antivirulence approaches (e.g., quorum-sensing inhibition). In recent years, she has been involved in national (5) and European projects (2) as PI or coordinator team member, and in the supervision of several students at different levels. She has held various editorial roles, including Associate, Section, Topic and Review Editor in reputable journals, and provided external services for global leader companies. She has more than 52 papers published in journals indexed in JCR (h-index = 27) on the domain of bacterial infectious diseases and antibacterial chemotherapy (specifically phytotherapy/phytomedicine). She was recognized as one of the most cited scientists in the World – on the World's Top 2% Scientists List 2021 and 2022 (Stanford University ranking).

Andreia S. Azevedo completed her PhD degree in June 2016 at Chemical and Biological Engineering from Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, in collaboration with the Nucleic Acid Center, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark (NAC, SDU). After holding a Post-doctoral position at FEUP in April 2017 (FCT-funded grant-SFRH/BPD/121601/2016), Andreia S. Azevedo started to work as a junior researcher and as a principal investigator for one FCT-funded project entitled by "Development of NAM-CLASI-FIVH method: a new in vivo tool for an accurate analysis of diversity and spatial organization of gastric microbiota" (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030431), at FEUP in January 2019. She is, from 2024, an Junior Researcher at LEPABE. Her main research interests include exploring and studying the hybridization properties of various nucleic acid mimics (NAMs), developing innovative Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methodologies using NAMs, and implementing and combining spectral imaging and NAM-FISH for the characterization of complex microbial communities.

Albano Beja Pereira holds a Ph.D. from the University of Porto in Agricultural Sciences, and has been conducting research in the genomics of domestic animal populations, their wild counterparts, and their parasites. He is the author of >100 publications on the origin, domestication, and patterns of genetic diversity of domestic species, some of which have been published in top journals (e.g., Science, Nature Genetics, PNAS). Lately, he has been contributing to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms that have led to a rapid adaptation of domestic species to the environment (cattle, sheep, donkey, horse, chicken, goat) through selection. He has led several research projects including the total (de novo) sequencing of the donkey and the total re-sequencing of the exome of cattle, pigs, and sheep. Among other roles, he has coordinated the research projects of five postdoctoral researchers, seven Ph.D. students, as well as numerous master's and bachelor's students. He serves on the editorial boards of three scientific journals (Frontiers in Genetics, Fronteirs Vet Sci and BMC Vet Res) and has been a reviewer and member of evaluation panels fron several funding bodies (national and International), as well as an ad hoc reviewer for various international science funding agencies (e.g., ERC), scientific journals, and scientific advisory boards for several international conferences. Currently, leads several projects, which go from building the Portuguese chart for soil biodiversity, the digestive system of domestic animals, animal-derived food products, and livestock farm holobiome, using metagenomics sequencing. He has led the "Agrigenomics" research group at the Center for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Studies (CIBIO, InBIO) at the University of Porto since 2009 and has been an assistant professor at the Department of Geosciences, Environment, and Spatial Planning (DGAOT) since February 2019.

Ana Paula Mucha has a research position at CIIMAR, University of Porto, Portugal, being member of the Board of Directors and the Principal Investigator of the ECOBIOTEC-BMS team (Bioremediation and Microbes for Sustainability). Also, she is an Invited Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology of Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto. She focuses her research on the relation between microorganisms and contaminants, aiming the development of bioremediation technologies for ecosystems recovery and environmental sustainability. She also explores the microbe-plant associations for the development of nature-based solutions for water management, and the microbe-animal interactions to increase environmental sustainability of aquaculture production. She authored ca. 95 SCI papers including high profile journals in the field of Marine and Environmental Sciences. She has been involved in multiple regional, national and international projects.

Benedita Sampaio Maia received her BSc in Microbiology in 1998 from the School of Biotechnology of the Portuguese Catholic University and her PhD in Human Biology in 2005 from the Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, where she specialized in pathophysiology mechanisms of kidney diseases. She did research at the Nephrology Research & Development Unit, where she was a scientific coordinator in 2014, and afterwards, she joined i3S / INEB – University of Porto, where she is currently a senior researcher focused on exploring the role of the human microbiome in health and disease. In parallel, she is an Associate Professor at Dentistry Faculty of University of Porto, chair of the Microbiology biannual courses in the Dentistry Master’s degree, while also taking part in PhD programs from UP.

Cláudia Serra coordinates the MBAqua - Microbiology and Biotechnology Research Group of CIIMAR- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research and is Assistant Professor at FCUP- Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal. Her research interests include the study of fish gut microbial communities, their relation to fish health/performance, and the development of microbial-based strategies to fight aquaculture problems. Claudia has more than 20 years of practical lab experience in academic settings with strong connections to pharma and animal-feed industries, counting with 3 Patents. 1 licensing agreement and several prizes. She has been involved in national and international projects, in students supervision, and in disseminating her research to schools and the general public.

Filipa Grosso has a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, a Master's in Clinical Microbiology and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences - Microbiology. Her research has focused primarily on priority pathogens such as Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas, contributing to the understanding of their resistance mechanisms and virulence traits. In addition to her work on antimicrobial resistance, FG has explored bacterial metabolism with biotechnological relevance, including co-authorship of a Portuguese patent on the microbial production of aromatic compounds. Her recent work integrates host–microbe–microbe interactions in the female urogenital tract focusing on the characterization of bacterial isolates with therapeutic and biotechnological potential. She is also active in science outreach through initiatives like MicroMundo@UPorto.

Fernanda Borges (FB) is Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP). FB received her MSc and PhD (Pharmaceutical Chemistry) in Pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Portugal. In 2021/2022/2023 FB stood among the world’s top 2% most cited researchers and those with the greatest impact throughout their career, by the Stanford University Ranking. FB published 395 articles, 26 book chapters (H-index: 60; Scopus) FB supervised/co-supervised (inter)national students at PhD (36) and MSc (42) thesis. FB was the Principal Investigator (PI) and co-PI of 33 national projects, and the principal inventor in 8 (inter)national patents. FB was the National delegate (MC substitute) of COST-CM1406, proponent, Vice-Chair and Grant Holder of COST CA15135, and member of the coordinating board of the European Projects Foie Gas (ETN) and mtFoie Gas (Rise). FB participates in (inter)national networks. (e.g. European Nanomedicine Technology Network, PT-OPENSCREEN, EU-OPENSCREEN, Paul Ehrlich MedChem, COADD. FB is the Coordinator of the EU PhD network Paul Ehrlich MedChem and the founder of the MitoTAG spin-off. FB's research is focused on drug discovery, namely the development of new chemical entities for the prevention/therapy of neurodegenerative, liver, cancer, or infectious diseases and the development of nanomedicine systems for therapeutic/diagnostic/ drug delivery approaches.

Luísa Peixe is a pharmacist and professor of Bacteriology at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto. She co-authored the Common European Curriculum for Health Science Courses of the Federation of European Microbiologic Societies (FEMS). She leads the Porto Culture Collection and the BACT_DRUGS research group at UCIBIO, also serving as the Vice-Director of this research unit. Recognized for her expertise in bacteriology and antimicrobial resistance, she has dedicated her career to studying the mechanisms, evolution, and transmission of antibiotic resistance, and the influence of the urobiome on health and disease. Her team's innovative contributions include the Blue-Carba test for detecting carbapenemases and efficient methods for tracking bacteria, complemented by significant discoveries about the diversity of the female urogenital tract microbiome. Her commitment to the scientific community and education has been recognized with the ESCMID-Fellow and is further demonstrated through relevant publications, active participation in prestigious scientific societies, editorial roles, project review duties, and frequent invitations to speak at national and international conferences. She acts as an expert for various organizations, such as the European Medicines Agency- EMA, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and JPIAMR. She also coordinates the citizen science project MicroMundo@UP, focused on addressing antimicrobial resistance.

Soon soon soon soon soon soon.

Maria de Fátima Carvalho holds a degree in Microbiology and a PhD in Biotechnology. Currently, she is Principal Investigator at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), where she leads the research team "Microbial Biodegradation and Bioprospecting." She is also invited Professor at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto (ICBAS). With over 19 years of experience in scientific research, one of her main research interests focuses on the bioprospecting of marine actinobacteria for the production of novel bioactive compounds with biotechnological potential. She is author of more than 70 publications in indexed international journals and books and has more than 200 communications (oral and poster) at international and national scientific meetings. She actively participates in science outreach activities, including scientific events aimed at the general public.

Nuno Filipe Azevedo is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) and a researchers at the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE). His main research interests are to explore the potential of nucleic acid mimics for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of infectious agents, as well as for the spatial location of microorganisms in multispecies biofilms. He has been involved as PI or Co-PI in several EU-funded projects, including DelNAM, a project that aimed to develop a novel therapeutic approach to solve bacterial resistance to antibiotics through the delivery of antibacterial nucleic acid mimics into bacterial biofilms, or the ERA-CHAIR e.Biofilm, a project that aims at the creation of a Group of Excellence in Engineered Biofilms at FEUP. During his research career he has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, submitted 9 patents and co-edited 7 books. He has been invited to more than 40 oral presentations in national and international conferences (e.g. keynote speaker at ECCMID 2022) and is regularly part of the scientific advisory committee of international conferences (e.g. Eurobiofilms 2024, XVth SPLC-CRS 2024).

Rute Oliveira graduated in Biology by the U. Porto, received an MSc from U. Minho, and a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from U. Porto. Her research carried out at the i3S and at the John Innes Centre, UK, contributed to fundamental research on the transcriptional control of bacterial responses to oxidative stress. During the 2020 pandemic, she participated in the establishment of the i3S COVID-19 Testing Centre. Rute was invited for 2 secondments at the medical industry in Basel, Switzerland, one of them as lab supervisor. She is currently committed to the development of the new i3S diagnostics centre and put research in infectious diseases at the service of NHS patient care, to accelerate pathogen diagnosis and antimicrobial resistance surveillance with NGS-based clinical assays.

Sandra is a microbiologist with deep interest in Host-pathogen interactions. She obtained a PhD in the laboratory of Pascale Cossart (Institut Pasteur, Paris) studying the bacterial mechanisms triggering key host signaling pathways to facilitate bacterial invasion of mammalian cells. She has been focusing her research on the understanding of mechanisms of host usurpation by relevant human pathogens. Sandra has extensive expertise in host cytoskeleton remodeling induced upon bacterial infection and to bacterial plasma membrane damaging factors, such as secreted pore-forming toxins. Sandra leads the group of Cell Biology of Bacterial Infections (CBBI) at i3S since June 2019. Her current research focus on intracellular responses to plasma membrane damage caused by pore-forming toxins, which are secreted by relevant human pathogens and play key roles in infection. In particular, she concentrates on plasma membrane and actomyosin remodeling, ER disruption and calcium signaling triggered by pore-forming toxins induced damage.

Ariana S. C. Gonçalves holds a Bachelor's and a Master’s degree in Biomedical sciences from the University of Beira Interior. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto. Her research is centered on developing innovative natural-based combinations to address chronic wound infections associated with biofilms.

Vânia is a 2nd year PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at FEUP. She earned her MSc in Biological Engineering from the University of Minho in 2007. Between completing her master’s degree and starting her PhD, she spent 5 years in a laboratory focused on producing fungi and micropropagated plants, 3 years at a research center investigating waste recovery, and 1 year at another research center studying biofilms. Her current research focuses on biofilms associated with chronic wounds. Her goal is to develop and optimize a multispecies chronic wound biofilm model and to use a transcriptomic approach, combined with confocal microscopy imaging, to characterize the functionality of the individual cells and determine how specific species influence gene expression patterns and spatial organization.

I’m a PhD student at the University of Porto, developing my research project at CIBIO-InBIO. I obtained my BSc degree in Biochemistry at the University of Coimbra and my MSc degree in Consumer Sciences and Nutrition at the University of Porto, with a dissertation focused on the characterization of the tongue dorsum microbiome in wine tasters. This work got me interested in the evolution and interaction of microbiological ecosystems and the evolutionary processes behind it. Before I started my phD, I was an assistant researcher in a soil microbiome biodiversity project working with non-invasive samples, NGS techniques and genomic data analysis. During this time, also collaborated on other projects and developing my skills in different techniques, such as exploring the microbiome of the reproductive tract of mares and the microbiome of fecal samples from hirola (Beatragus hunteri), and the genetic characterization of Santolina semidentata through RAD-seq. My phD work focus on the diverse microbial communities found in intensive Portuguese dairy farms using metagenomics. The study of the dairy farm environmental microbiomes is vital to understand how they interact with the animal microbiomes and how the monitoring of the environmental microbiomes can work as biosecurity sentinels.

Leonor has a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology (2020) and a Master’s in Applied Microbiology (2022), both from the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia – Universidade Católica Portuguesa do Porto. After conducting her master’s thesis at CIIMAR, she became a research technician there. Leonor is now a PhD student at CIIMAR, in collaboration with WHOI (USA), where she explores metal impacts and the bioremediation potential of deep-sea bacteria and microbial communities. Leonor participates regularly in deep-sea cruise expeditions where she collects samples for her PhD work, learns about various techniques and equipment, and establishes new collaborations. Being an avid believer that science should be shared, Leonor has participated in several national and international conferences, being the last the 17th Deep-sea Biology Symposium, last January in Hong Kong, given lectures to high school students about the Arctic and climate change, and she is also a part of CIIMAR’s PhD students committee that organizes several scientific activities, including an annual conference – the Blue Think Conference. Leonor’s PhD grant is funded by FCT.

Isadora is a 1st year PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at FEUP. She holds an MSc in Biotechnology and has experience in microbiology and biofilm research. Before the PhD, she worked as a project researcher at LEPABE in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology. In 2025, she began her PhD focused on developing and validating in vitro models for cystic fibrosis-related infections. In partnership with Bac3Gel, she applies PNA-FISH to study polymicrobial biofilms in 3D pulmonary models. Her interests include microbiology, infection models, genetic engineering and cellular modification, with a strong motivation to advance diagnostics and promote public engagement with science.

Bárbara is a 1st year PhD student in the Microbiology and Biotechnology in Aquaculture (MBAqua) group at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto. Her research is centred on sustainable fish vaccination strategies to prevent and manage bacterial infections in aquaculture. She focuses on the development of next-generation oral vaccines using Bacillus subtilis spores as innovative delivery vehicles (SporoVaccines). Additionally, she investigates the use of molecular adjuvants, a relatively unexplored approach in oral immunization, to boost immune responses and enhance vaccine efficacy. By combining SporoVaccines with molecular adjuvants, her research aims to optimize the performance of oral vaccines. This innovative approach contributes to the advancement of sustainable aquaculture by reducing reliance on antibiotics, improving fish welfare, and supporting the production of safe, high-quality aquaculture products. Bárbara has published three articles in peer-reviewed international journals, including two as first author on the domain of bacterial antimicrobial resistance.

Margarida Pereira is a PhD student (FCUP-UP) developing her research on Microbial-assisted phytoremediation for the removal of mixed pollutants in estuarine environment, closely aligned with CIIMAR’s BIOSYSMO and Mar2Protect Projects. Her academic career comprises a BSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology (FCT-NOVA), a MSc in Science Communication (FCSH-NOVA) and a MSc in Biotechnology for Sustainability (ITQB-NOVA). She has experience in applied blue, green, and red biotechnology in various Portuguese research centres.

Miguel Castro has a bachelor's degree in Genetics and Biotechnology and a master’s degree in Food Engineering, both from the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal). In 2021, for bachelor's, he participated in the identification of lung parasites from cervids within the project “Wasting Prion Disease Risk”, where the first molecular identification of Dictyocaulus capreolus in Portugal was done. These results were presented in Poster format at 1 International Conference and originated his first PUBLICATION as 2nd author in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. From 2022 to 2023 he did research on Food Safety in Restaurants, performing microbiological analyses of samples taken from equipment, surfaces, utensils, hands and drains. The alarming results of this study originated an ORAL PRESENTATION that he gave at a microbiology congress 4 Posters presentations in 4 additional Conferences and originated 3 PUBLICATIONS as 1st AUTHOR in peer-reviewed international scientific journals: 2 proceeding papers and 1 full article published at Microorganisms journal. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in Biology at FCUP on the MBAqua- Microbiology and Biotechnology Group of CIIMAR and his focus is on evaluating AquaGrapes, a grape extract, for aquaculture applications by determining its safe dosage, assessing its efficacy through fish feed incorporation, and characterizing its immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects. The research also explores AquaGrapes' impact on gut microbiota and its role in disease prevention and treatment, aiming to optimize dosing, enhance fish health and performance, and reduce antibiotic use in aquaculture.

SOON SOON SOON

Liliane P. Ferrador is a microbiologist specializing in molecular biology, antimicrobial resistance, and microbial genomics. She earned her BSc and MSc degrees from Portuguese universities, where she developed a strong interest in microbial communities, infection control, and sustainable antimicrobial strategies. Liliane expanded her expertise through postgraduate training in bacterial genomics and advanced data analysis. In 2024, she was awarded a research fellowship to study a soil-derived bacterium with antimicrobial activity, applying genomics, transcriptomics, and chemical profiling techniques. Beyond the lab, Liliane is committed to science outreach, organizing exhibitions and workshops to promote awareness of antimicrobial resistance and microbiology among students and the public. Her work bridges fundamental research with practical applications in infection control and antimicrobial discovery.

SOON SOON SOON

Miguel Pinto holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, both from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP). His Master's dissertation focused on the development of a bioinformatics pipeline designed to perform automated and efficient phylogenetic analyses. Currently he is the bioinformatician at i3S Diagnostics and his work is centered on the development of advanced bioinformatics pipelines and the management of large-scale genomic sequencing data. His contributions support the processing and interpretation of high-throughput NGS data with the goal of developing innovative diagnostic tests for the accurate detection of pathogenic agents in metagenomic samples and the characterization of their antimicrobial resistance profiles.

Georgina Alves has been working in the field of infectious diseases since 2009 with a strong focus on cell biology, human genetics, microbiology, molecular genetics, drug development, drug delivery, and diagnosis. She holds a degree in Applied Biology, a master’s in Molecular Genetics and is currently finishing a PhD in Bioengineering Systems – an international PhD program developed in collaboration with MIT and several Portuguese institutions. As a research fellow, Georgina had the opportunity to collaborate in multiple projects, as well as to meet researchers from different scientific backgrounds. This period was an enriching and valuable experience for her personal and scientific development, giving her expertise in BSL2 and BSL3 pathogenic agents. Georgina has 14 international scientific publications, including a study on the development of a high-throughput screening method for quantifying intracellular Leishmania spp. Currently, she works as a technician at i3S Diagnostics (i3S, Porto), where she is involved in the development and implementation of innovative diagnostic tests for pathogen detection in clinical settings.

SOON SOON SOON.

Sílvia is a cell biologist keen on understanding the mechanisms of plasma membrane repair responding to viral-bacterial co-infection. She has prior experience in studying influenza A virus-induced membrane remodeling and associated vesicular trafficking events, and she is an expert in multimodal imaging. Outside the lab, Sílvia is the mom of a baby girl and enjoys cinema and Pilates.

Juliana Morais is a nutritionist and researcher. Her work focuses on translational research, always centered on the relationship between nutritional sciences and the gut microbiota. She holds a degree in Nutritional Sciences from the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Research from NOVA Medical School – Faculty of Medical Sciences, NOVA University Lisbon. Currently, she is in the 4th year of her PhD in Metabolism – Clinical and Experimental, at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, where she studies the early-life gut microbiota. In 2017, she began her career in clinical research through an academic internship, during which she developed the FEEDMI project, aimed at studying the influence of infant feeding on the gut microbiota of premature babies hospitalized in intensive care units. She is currently a researcher in the PERIMYR & OralBioBorn projects at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto.

Manuel Cardoso Baptista is a dentist and a 2nd year PhD student at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of the University of Porto (FMDUP). He earned his MSc in Dental Medicine in 2023, also from FMDUP. Since then, he has been working as a practicing dentist while pursuing his doctoral studies. He is particularly interested in the oral and gut microbiome, with a special focus on probiotics. His research aims to identify oral-origin bacteria with potential probiotic properties. Since January 2025, he has also been working as a research assistant on the Perimyr and Oralbioborn projects at FMUP, which explore how the human microbiome is acquired during the first 1000 days of life and its relationship with the maternal microbiome.

Fernando Cagide obtained his PhD (2009) in Organic Chemistry at the Chemistry Faculty at the University of Santiago de Compostela. His Ph.D.thesis was focused on the area of Organic Chemistry, and the research was related to the synthesis of natural products of marine origin, such as tetrodotoxin (a toxin present in a large number of species) and alkaloids extracted from plants such as pancratistanin (present in the family of Amaryllidaceae). In 2011, he started a post-doctoral stay at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, with a postdoctoral fellowship by FCT (SFRH/BPD/72923/2010), focused on Medicinal Chemistry. During this period, he participated in the synthesis of several families of compounds and evaluation of the biological properties: as their enzymatic inhibition properties in Acetyl- and Butyrylcholinesterases (AChE and BChE, respectively) and Monoamine Oxidase (MAO-A and -B)), their cytotoxicity profile evaluated in cell-free and cell-based assays, and their antioxidant properties. Fernando Cagide has a research grant under Decree-Law No. 57/2016, focused on synthesizing and evaluating new substances with antibiotic properties.

Lisa Sequeira (LS) holds a BSc (2011) and an MSc (2013) in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal. From 2014 to 2015, she conducted research as a pre-doctoral fellow. In 2018, she was awarded a PhD fellowship by the Italian Ministry of Education and enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Life, Environmental and Drug Sciences (Drug Sciences curriculum) at the University of Cagliari, Italy. Her doctoral work focused on developing selective carbonic anhydrase inhibitors with potential antitumor activity. She completed her PhD in April 2022 with the title of European Doctorate, and her work was internationally recognized with the Paul Ehrlich European MedChem Network – PhD Label (Greece, 2023). LS is the author of 10 peer-reviewed publications and 1 book chapter (h-index 5), and has contributed to over 25 scientific communications, including oral and poster presentations. She has also participated in academic teaching as an invited assistant in the Medicinal Analysis course (University of Cagliari) and has supervised 14 students across PhD, undergraduate, Erasmus, and high school levels. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at CIQUP, where her work focuses on the discovery and development of novel chemical entities with therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, including the evaluation of their physicochemical properties and biological activities.

Anabela Borges graduated in Biology holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Biology, and a PhD in Chemical and Biological Sciences. Currently, she is an Assistant Researcher at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto and member of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE). Her main research interests are related to the problematic of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation in bio(medical) fields. Her research is focused on the development of new antibacterial agents and strategies to fight bacterial resistance and biofilm-associated infections (e.g., chronic wounds, pulmonary), with special interest in phytochemical compounds and antipathogenic/antivirulence approaches (e.g., quorum-sensing inhibition). In recent years, she has been involved in national (5) and European projects (2) as PI or coordinator team member, and in the supervision of several students at different levels. She has held various editorial roles, including Associate, Section, Topic and Review Editor in reputable journals, and provided external services for global leader companies. She has more than 52 papers published in journals indexed in JCR (h-index = 27) on the domain of bacterial infectious diseases and antibacterial chemotherapy (specifically phytotherapy/phytomedicine). She was recognized as one of the most cited scientists in the World – on the World's Top 2% Scientists List 2021 and 2022 (Stanford University ranking).

Andreia S. Azevedo completed her PhD degree in June 2016 at Chemical and Biological Engineering from Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, in collaboration with the Nucleic Acid Center, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark (NAC, SDU). After holding a Post-doctoral position at FEUP in April 2017 (FCT-funded grant-SFRH/BPD/121601/2016), Andreia S. Azevedo started to work as a junior researcher and as a principal investigator for one FCT-funded project entitled by "Development of NAM-CLASI-FIVH method: a new in vivo tool for an accurate analysis of diversity and spatial organization of gastric microbiota" (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030431), at FEUP in January 2019. She is, from 2024, an Junior Researcher at LEPABE. Her main research interests include exploring and studying the hybridization properties of various nucleic acid mimics (NAMs), developing innovative Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methodologies using NAMs, and implementing and combining spectral imaging and NAM-FISH for the characterization of complex microbial communities.

Albano Beja Pereira holds a Ph.D. from the University of Porto in Agricultural Sciences, and has been conducting research in the genomics of domestic animal populations, their wild counterparts, and their parasites. He is the author of >100 publications on the origin, domestication, and patterns of genetic diversity of domestic species, some of which have been published in top journals (e.g., Science, Nature Genetics, PNAS). Lately, he has been contributing to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms that have led to a rapid adaptation of domestic species to the environment (cattle, sheep, donkey, horse, chicken, goat) through selection. He has led several research projects including the total (de novo) sequencing of the donkey and the total re-sequencing of the exome of cattle, pigs, and sheep. Among other roles, he has coordinated the research projects of five postdoctoral researchers, seven Ph.D. students, as well as numerous master's and bachelor's students. He serves on the editorial boards of three scientific journals (Frontiers in Genetics, Fronteirs Vet Sci and BMC Vet Res) and has been a reviewer and member of evaluation panels fron several funding bodies (national and International), as well as an ad hoc reviewer for various international science funding agencies (e.g., ERC), scientific journals, and scientific advisory boards for several international conferences. Currently, leads several projects, which go from building the Portuguese chart for soil biodiversity, the digestive system of domestic animals, animal-derived food products, and livestock farm holobiome, using metagenomics sequencing. He has led the "Agrigenomics" research group at the Center for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Studies (CIBIO, InBIO) at the University of Porto since 2009 and has been an assistant professor at the Department of Geosciences, Environment, and Spatial Planning (DGAOT) since February 2019.

Ana Paula Mucha has a research position at CIIMAR, University of Porto, Portugal, being member of the Board of Directors and the Principal Investigator of the ECOBIOTEC-BMS team (Bioremediation and Microbes for Sustainability). Also, she is an Invited Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology of Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto. She focuses her research on the relation between microorganisms and contaminants, aiming the development of bioremediation technologies for ecosystems recovery and environmental sustainability. She also explores the microbe-plant associations for the development of nature-based solutions for water management, and the microbe-animal interactions to increase environmental sustainability of aquaculture production. She authored ca. 95 SCI papers including high profile journals in the field of Marine and Environmental Sciences. She has been involved in multiple regional, national and international projects.

Benedita Sampaio Maia received her BSc in Microbiology in 1998 from the School of Biotechnology of the Portuguese Catholic University and her PhD in Human Biology in 2005 from the Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, where she specialized in pathophysiology mechanisms of kidney diseases. She did research at the Nephrology Research & Development Unit, where she was a scientific coordinator in 2014, and afterwards, she joined i3S / INEB – University of Porto, where she is currently a senior researcher focused on exploring the role of the human microbiome in health and disease. In parallel, she is an Associate Professor at Dentistry Faculty of University of Porto, chair of the Microbiology biannual courses in the Dentistry Master’s degree, while also taking part in PhD programs from UP.

Cláudia Serra coordinates the MBAqua - Microbiology and Biotechnology Research Group of CIIMAR- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research and is Assistant Professor at FCUP- Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal. Her research interests include the study of fish gut microbial communities, their relation to fish health/performance, and the development of microbial-based strategies to fight aquaculture problems. Claudia has more than 20 years of practical lab experience in academic settings with strong connections to pharma and animal-feed industries, counting with 3 Patents. 1 licensing agreement and several prizes. She has been involved in national and international projects, in students supervision, and in disseminating her research to schools and the general public.

Filipa Grosso has a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, a Master's in Clinical Microbiology and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences - Microbiology. Her research has focused primarily on priority pathogens such as Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas, contributing to the understanding of their resistance mechanisms and virulence traits. In addition to her work on antimicrobial resistance, FG has explored bacterial metabolism with biotechnological relevance, including co-authorship of a Portuguese patent on the microbial production of aromatic compounds. Her recent work integrates host–microbe–microbe interactions in the female urogenital tract focusing on the characterization of bacterial isolates with therapeutic and biotechnological potential. She is also active in science outreach through initiatives like MicroMundo@UPorto.

Fernanda Borges (FB) is Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP). FB received her MSc and PhD (Pharmaceutical Chemistry) in Pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Portugal. In 2021/2022/2023 FB stood among the world’s top 2% most cited researchers and those with the greatest impact throughout their career, by the Stanford University Ranking. FB published 395 articles, 26 book chapters (H-index: 60; Scopus) FB supervised/co-supervised (inter)national students at PhD (36) and MSc (42) thesis. FB was the Principal Investigator (PI) and co-PI of 33 national projects, and the principal inventor in 8 (inter)national patents. FB was the National delegate (MC substitute) of COST-CM1406, proponent, Vice-Chair and Grant Holder of COST CA15135, and member of the coordinating board of the European Projects Foie Gas (ETN) and mtFoie Gas (Rise). FB participates in (inter)national networks. (e.g. European Nanomedicine Technology Network, PT-OPENSCREEN, EU-OPENSCREEN, Paul Ehrlich MedChem, COADD. FB is the Coordinator of the EU PhD network Paul Ehrlich MedChem and the founder of the MitoTAG spin-off. FB's research is focused on drug discovery, namely the development of new chemical entities for the prevention/therapy of neurodegenerative, liver, cancer, or infectious diseases and the development of nanomedicine systems for therapeutic/diagnostic/ drug delivery approaches.

Luísa Peixe is a pharmacist and professor of Bacteriology at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto. She co-authored the Common European Curriculum for Health Science Courses of the Federation of European Microbiologic Societies (FEMS). She leads the Porto Culture Collection and the BACT_DRUGS research group at UCIBIO, also serving as the Vice-Director of this research unit. Recognized for her expertise in bacteriology and antimicrobial resistance, she has dedicated her career to studying the mechanisms, evolution, and transmission of antibiotic resistance, and the influence of the urobiome on health and disease. Her team's innovative contributions include the Blue-Carba test for detecting carbapenemases and efficient methods for tracking bacteria, complemented by significant discoveries about the diversity of the female urogenital tract microbiome. Her commitment to the scientific community and education has been recognized with the ESCMID-Fellow and is further demonstrated through relevant publications, active participation in prestigious scientific societies, editorial roles, project review duties, and frequent invitations to speak at national and international conferences. She acts as an expert for various organizations, such as the European Medicines Agency- EMA, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and JPIAMR. She also coordinates the citizen science project MicroMundo@UP, focused on addressing antimicrobial resistance.

Soon soon soon soon soon soon.

Maria de Fátima Carvalho holds a degree in Microbiology and a PhD in Biotechnology. Currently, she is Principal Investigator at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), where she leads the research team "Microbial Biodegradation and Bioprospecting." She is also invited Professor at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto (ICBAS). With over 19 years of experience in scientific research, one of her main research interests focuses on the bioprospecting of marine actinobacteria for the production of novel bioactive compounds with biotechnological potential. She is author of more than 70 publications in indexed international journals and books and has more than 200 communications (oral and poster) at international and national scientific meetings. She actively participates in science outreach activities, including scientific events aimed at the general public.

Nuno Filipe Azevedo is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) and a researchers at the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE). His main research interests are to explore the potential of nucleic acid mimics for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of infectious agents, as well as for the spatial location of microorganisms in multispecies biofilms. He has been involved as PI or Co-PI in several EU-funded projects, including DelNAM, a project that aimed to develop a novel therapeutic approach to solve bacterial resistance to antibiotics through the delivery of antibacterial nucleic acid mimics into bacterial biofilms, or the ERA-CHAIR e.Biofilm, a project that aims at the creation of a Group of Excellence in Engineered Biofilms at FEUP. During his research career he has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, submitted 9 patents and co-edited 7 books. He has been invited to more than 40 oral presentations in national and international conferences (e.g. keynote speaker at ECCMID 2022) and is regularly part of the scientific advisory committee of international conferences (e.g. Eurobiofilms 2024, XVth SPLC-CRS 2024).

Rute Oliveira graduated in Biology by the U. Porto, received an MSc from U. Minho, and a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from U. Porto. Her research carried out at the i3S and at the John Innes Centre, UK, contributed to fundamental research on the transcriptional control of bacterial responses to oxidative stress. During the 2020 pandemic, she participated in the establishment of the i3S COVID-19 Testing Centre. Rute was invited for 2 secondments at the medical industry in Basel, Switzerland, one of them as lab supervisor. She is currently committed to the development of the new i3S diagnostics centre and put research in infectious diseases at the service of NHS patient care, to accelerate pathogen diagnosis and antimicrobial resistance surveillance with NGS-based clinical assays.

Sandra is a microbiologist with deep interest in Host-pathogen interactions. She obtained a PhD in the laboratory of Pascale Cossart (Institut Pasteur, Paris) studying the bacterial mechanisms triggering key host signaling pathways to facilitate bacterial invasion of mammalian cells. She has been focusing her research on the understanding of mechanisms of host usurpation by relevant human pathogens. Sandra has extensive expertise in host cytoskeleton remodeling induced upon bacterial infection and to bacterial plasma membrane damaging factors, such as secreted pore-forming toxins. Sandra leads the group of Cell Biology of Bacterial Infections (CBBI) at i3S since June 2019. Her current research focus on intracellular responses to plasma membrane damage caused by pore-forming toxins, which are secreted by relevant human pathogens and play key roles in infection. In particular, she concentrates on plasma membrane and actomyosin remodeling, ER disruption and calcium signaling triggered by pore-forming toxins induced damage.

Ariana S. C. Gonçalves holds a Bachelor's and a Master’s degree in Biomedical sciences from the University of Beira Interior. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto. Her research is centered on developing innovative natural-based combinations to address chronic wound infections associated with biofilms.

Vânia is a 2nd year PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at FEUP. She earned her MSc in Biological Engineering from the University of Minho in 2007. Between completing her master’s degree and starting her PhD, she spent 5 years in a laboratory focused on producing fungi and micropropagated plants, 3 years at a research center investigating waste recovery, and 1 year at another research center studying biofilms. Her current research focuses on biofilms associated with chronic wounds. Her goal is to develop and optimize a multispecies chronic wound biofilm model and to use a transcriptomic approach, combined with confocal microscopy imaging, to characterize the functionality of the individual cells and determine how specific species influence gene expression patterns and spatial organization.

I’m a PhD student at the University of Porto, developing my research project at CIBIO-InBIO. I obtained my BSc degree in Biochemistry at the University of Coimbra and my MSc degree in Consumer Sciences and Nutrition at the University of Porto, with a dissertation focused on the characterization of the tongue dorsum microbiome in wine tasters. This work got me interested in the evolution and interaction of microbiological ecosystems and the evolutionary processes behind it. Before I started my phD, I was an assistant researcher in a soil microbiome biodiversity project working with non-invasive samples, NGS techniques and genomic data analysis. During this time, also collaborated on other projects and developing my skills in different techniques, such as exploring the microbiome of the reproductive tract of mares and the microbiome of fecal samples from hirola (Beatragus hunteri), and the genetic characterization of Santolina semidentata through RAD-seq. My phD work focus on the diverse microbial communities found in intensive Portuguese dairy farms using metagenomics. The study of the dairy farm environmental microbiomes is vital to understand how they interact with the animal microbiomes and how the monitoring of the environmental microbiomes can work as biosecurity sentinels.

Leonor has a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology (2020) and a Master’s in Applied Microbiology (2022), both from the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia – Universidade Católica Portuguesa do Porto. After conducting her master’s thesis at CIIMAR, she became a research technician there. Leonor is now a PhD student at CIIMAR, in collaboration with WHOI (USA), where she explores metal impacts and the bioremediation potential of deep-sea bacteria and microbial communities. Leonor participates regularly in deep-sea cruise expeditions where she collects samples for her PhD work, learns about various techniques and equipment, and establishes new collaborations. Being an avid believer that science should be shared, Leonor has participated in several national and international conferences, being the last the 17th Deep-sea Biology Symposium, last January in Hong Kong, given lectures to high school students about the Arctic and climate change, and she is also a part of CIIMAR’s PhD students committee that organizes several scientific activities, including an annual conference – the Blue Think Conference. Leonor’s PhD grant is funded by FCT.

Isadora is a 1st year PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at FEUP. She holds an MSc in Biotechnology and has experience in microbiology and biofilm research. Before the PhD, she worked as a project researcher at LEPABE in collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology. In 2025, she began her PhD focused on developing and validating in vitro models for cystic fibrosis-related infections. In partnership with Bac3Gel, she applies PNA-FISH to study polymicrobial biofilms in 3D pulmonary models. Her interests include microbiology, infection models, genetic engineering and cellular modification, with a strong motivation to advance diagnostics and promote public engagement with science.

Bárbara is a 1st year PhD student in the Microbiology and Biotechnology in Aquaculture (MBAqua) group at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto. Her research is centred on sustainable fish vaccination strategies to prevent and manage bacterial infections in aquaculture. She focuses on the development of next-generation oral vaccines using Bacillus subtilis spores as innovative delivery vehicles (SporoVaccines). Additionally, she investigates the use of molecular adjuvants, a relatively unexplored approach in oral immunization, to boost immune responses and enhance vaccine efficacy. By combining SporoVaccines with molecular adjuvants, her research aims to optimize the performance of oral vaccines. This innovative approach contributes to the advancement of sustainable aquaculture by reducing reliance on antibiotics, improving fish welfare, and supporting the production of safe, high-quality aquaculture products. Bárbara has published three articles in peer-reviewed international journals, including two as first author on the domain of bacterial antimicrobial resistance.

Margarida Pereira is a PhD student (FCUP-UP) developing her research on Microbial-assisted phytoremediation for the removal of mixed pollutants in estuarine environment, closely aligned with CIIMAR’s BIOSYSMO and Mar2Protect Projects. Her academic career comprises a BSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology (FCT-NOVA), a MSc in Science Communication (FCSH-NOVA) and a MSc in Biotechnology for Sustainability (ITQB-NOVA). She has experience in applied blue, green, and red biotechnology in various Portuguese research centres.

Miguel Castro has a bachelor's degree in Genetics and Biotechnology and a master’s degree in Food Engineering, both from the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal). In 2021, for bachelor's, he participated in the identification of lung parasites from cervids within the project “Wasting Prion Disease Risk”, where the first molecular identification of Dictyocaulus capreolus in Portugal was done. These results were presented in Poster format at 1 International Conference and originated his first PUBLICATION as 2nd author in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. From 2022 to 2023 he did research on Food Safety in Restaurants, performing microbiological analyses of samples taken from equipment, surfaces, utensils, hands and drains. The alarming results of this study originated an ORAL PRESENTATION that he gave at a microbiology congress 4 Posters presentations in 4 additional Conferences and originated 3 PUBLICATIONS as 1st AUTHOR in peer-reviewed international scientific journals: 2 proceeding papers and 1 full article published at Microorganisms journal. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in Biology at FCUP on the MBAqua- Microbiology and Biotechnology Group of CIIMAR and his focus is on evaluating AquaGrapes, a grape extract, for aquaculture applications by determining its safe dosage, assessing its efficacy through fish feed incorporation, and characterizing its immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects. The research also explores AquaGrapes' impact on gut microbiota and its role in disease prevention and treatment, aiming to optimize dosing, enhance fish health and performance, and reduce antibiotic use in aquaculture.

SOON SOON SOON

Liliane P. Ferrador is a microbiologist specializing in molecular biology, antimicrobial resistance, and microbial genomics. She earned her BSc and MSc degrees from Portuguese universities, where she developed a strong interest in microbial communities, infection control, and sustainable antimicrobial strategies. Liliane expanded her expertise through postgraduate training in bacterial genomics and advanced data analysis. In 2024, she was awarded a research fellowship to study a soil-derived bacterium with antimicrobial activity, applying genomics, transcriptomics, and chemical profiling techniques. Beyond the lab, Liliane is committed to science outreach, organizing exhibitions and workshops to promote awareness of antimicrobial resistance and microbiology among students and the public. Her work bridges fundamental research with practical applications in infection control and antimicrobial discovery.

SOON SOON SOON

Miguel Pinto holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, both from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP). His Master's dissertation focused on the development of a bioinformatics pipeline designed to perform automated and efficient phylogenetic analyses. Currently he is the bioinformatician at i3S Diagnostics and his work is centered on the development of advanced bioinformatics pipelines and the management of large-scale genomic sequencing data. His contributions support the processing and interpretation of high-throughput NGS data with the goal of developing innovative diagnostic tests for the accurate detection of pathogenic agents in metagenomic samples and the characterization of their antimicrobial resistance profiles.

Georgina Alves has been working in the field of infectious diseases since 2009 with a strong focus on cell biology, human genetics, microbiology, molecular genetics, drug development, drug delivery, and diagnosis. She holds a degree in Applied Biology, a master’s in Molecular Genetics and is currently finishing a PhD in Bioengineering Systems – an international PhD program developed in collaboration with MIT and several Portuguese institutions. As a research fellow, Georgina had the opportunity to collaborate in multiple projects, as well as to meet researchers from different scientific backgrounds. This period was an enriching and valuable experience for her personal and scientific development, giving her expertise in BSL2 and BSL3 pathogenic agents. Georgina has 14 international scientific publications, including a study on the development of a high-throughput screening method for quantifying intracellular Leishmania spp. Currently, she works as a technician at i3S Diagnostics (i3S, Porto), where she is involved in the development and implementation of innovative diagnostic tests for pathogen detection in clinical settings.

SOON SOON SOON.

Sílvia is a cell biologist keen on understanding the mechanisms of plasma membrane repair responding to viral-bacterial co-infection. She has prior experience in studying influenza A virus-induced membrane remodeling and associated vesicular trafficking events, and she is an expert in multimodal imaging. Outside the lab, Sílvia is the mom of a baby girl and enjoys cinema and Pilates.

Juliana Morais is a nutritionist and researcher. Her work focuses on translational research, always centered on the relationship between nutritional sciences and the gut microbiota. She holds a degree in Nutritional Sciences from the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Research from NOVA Medical School – Faculty of Medical Sciences, NOVA University Lisbon. Currently, she is in the 4th year of her PhD in Metabolism – Clinical and Experimental, at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, where she studies the early-life gut microbiota. In 2017, she began her career in clinical research through an academic internship, during which she developed the FEEDMI project, aimed at studying the influence of infant feeding on the gut microbiota of premature babies hospitalized in intensive care units. She is currently a researcher in the PERIMYR & OralBioBorn projects at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto.

Manuel Cardoso Baptista is a dentist and a 2nd year PhD student at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of the University of Porto (FMDUP). He earned his MSc in Dental Medicine in 2023, also from FMDUP. Since then, he has been working as a practicing dentist while pursuing his doctoral studies. He is particularly interested in the oral and gut microbiome, with a special focus on probiotics. His research aims to identify oral-origin bacteria with potential probiotic properties. Since January 2025, he has also been working as a research assistant on the Perimyr and Oralbioborn projects at FMUP, which explore how the human microbiome is acquired during the first 1000 days of life and its relationship with the maternal microbiome.

Fernando Cagide obtained his PhD (2009) in Organic Chemistry at the Chemistry Faculty at the University of Santiago de Compostela. His Ph.D.thesis was focused on the area of Organic Chemistry, and the research was related to the synthesis of natural products of marine origin, such as tetrodotoxin (a toxin present in a large number of species) and alkaloids extracted from plants such as pancratistanin (present in the family of Amaryllidaceae). In 2011, he started a post-doctoral stay at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, with a postdoctoral fellowship by FCT (SFRH/BPD/72923/2010), focused on Medicinal Chemistry. During this period, he participated in the synthesis of several families of compounds and evaluation of the biological properties: as their enzymatic inhibition properties in Acetyl- and Butyrylcholinesterases (AChE and BChE, respectively) and Monoamine Oxidase (MAO-A and -B)), their cytotoxicity profile evaluated in cell-free and cell-based assays, and their antioxidant properties. Fernando Cagide has a research grant under Decree-Law No. 57/2016, focused on synthesizing and evaluating new substances with antibiotic properties.

Lisa Sequeira (LS) holds a BSc (2011) and an MSc (2013) in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal. From 2014 to 2015, she conducted research as a pre-doctoral fellow. In 2018, she was awarded a PhD fellowship by the Italian Ministry of Education and enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Life, Environmental and Drug Sciences (Drug Sciences curriculum) at the University of Cagliari, Italy. Her doctoral work focused on developing selective carbonic anhydrase inhibitors with potential antitumor activity. She completed her PhD in April 2022 with the title of European Doctorate, and her work was internationally recognized with the Paul Ehrlich European MedChem Network – PhD Label (Greece, 2023). LS is the author of 10 peer-reviewed publications and 1 book chapter (h-index 5), and has contributed to over 25 scientific communications, including oral and poster presentations. She has also participated in academic teaching as an invited assistant in the Medicinal Analysis course (University of Cagliari) and has supervised 14 students across PhD, undergraduate, Erasmus, and high school levels. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at CIQUP, where her work focuses on the discovery and development of novel chemical entities with therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, including the evaluation of their physicochemical properties and biological activities.