Born in 1974, she has a degree in Biology and obtained the degree of Master of Immunology at the University of Porto in 1992 and 1994. She got her PhD in 1998 from University College London ( UK ) and until 2002 developed research at New York University Medical School. From 2002 she led a research group at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, and since 2005 at the Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM ), Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon (which has run from 2014). In 2005-2010 was a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (USA). She has won several national and international awards such as the European Young Investigator Award from the European Science Foundation ( 2004) or Pessoa Prize (2013 ) . She was awarded by the President in 2005 with the Order of Infante D. Henrique. It has published over 100 scientific articles and holds 4 patents. It belongs to the Editorial Board of three international journals. Appointed by the Board of Trustees in November 2015.