Daniela Costa is a biochemist with an MSc in Molecular Genetics from the University of Minho (2022). She began her research in the Surgical Sciences Domain at Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), where she investigated the effects of hyperglycemia on embryonic development. She later joined the InflammaSignal group, focusing on the molecular regulation of autophagy and its modulation by environmental factors in the context of aging. She subsequently contributed to multidisciplinary projects on lysosomal storage disorders, extracellular vesicles, and age-related cellular mechanisms, including PRR-funded initiatives on biomarker discovery for chronic inflammation, metabolic diseases, and leukemia.

Currently, Daniela works as a research technician in the INSI group supervised by Dr. Cláudia Nóbrega, where she supports ongoing research in multiple sclerosis. Her work involves flow cytometry-based characterization of immune cell populations, with a focus on T cell phenotyping and the analysis of immune alterations associated with disease progression.

In parallel, she has co-supervised undergraduate and MSc students, contributing to experimental design, training, and day-to-day research guidance. She also remains actively engaged in scientific outreach through the Junior Section of the Portuguese Biochemical Society, where she supports science communication, event organization, and visibility initiatives.

Her experience spans molecular and cellular biology approaches applied to complex disease contexts, with an interest in translational research and biomarker discovery.