I graduated in biomedical sciences with a minor in biochemistry. I extended my undergraduate studies for one year to gain research experience in the field of tropical parasites, namely Leishmania spp. and Trypanosoma cruzi. After graduation, I pursued a PhD in veterinary parasitology, where I specialized in antigenic diversity of African trypanosomes. My work compiled computational, evolutionary and molecular biology, using both experimental models and natural infections. In my postdoc, I explored the infection biology of African trypanosomes and described the basis of acute cerebral trypanosomiasis, a violent and rare form of an otherwise chronic, wasting disease.

As I moved into research independence, I acquired competences in tissue bioengineering. My lab explores how African trypanosomes interact with their mammalian hosts via the cells that line the blood vessels. We are a versatile team, combining computational, evolutionary and infection biology techniques with tissue bioengineering systems that allow us to better reproduce disease settings. The overarching aim of the lab is to understand how trypanosome parasites survive in their mammalian hosts to prime the design of future therapies.

I have secured competitive funding from various prestigious institutions, including La Caixa Foundation, European Commission, EMBO and Fundação BIAL.  My strong professional network is highighted by current and former international collaborations in the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, Kenya, and South Africa. 

It is also highlighted by more than 15 communications in international conferences such as Molecular Parasitology Meeting, Kinetoplastid Molecular and Cell Biology Meeting, Spring Meeting of British Society of Parasitology, Annual Meeting of Sociedade Brasileira de Protozoologia, and EMBL meetings. I have been invited to present at several prestigious institutions and specialised meetings, including the Symposium on African Livestock Trypanosomiasis (Tanzania); the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine of the University of Glasgow (UK); the Chronic Diseases Research Center (Portugal), the Earlham Institute (UK), and the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (Portugal).