I am a Research Assistant at ICVS/School of Medicine, University of Minho, where I work on the ERC Consolidator Grant “Challenging Current Models of Valence Encoding in the Mammalian Brain”. My research focuses on how reward and aversion shape molecular, transcriptomic and circuit-level responses in nucleus accumbens circuits, integrating RNA sequencing with behavioural, optogenetic and circuit-level approaches, with relevance for addiction and neuropsychiatric disorders.

I completed my PhD in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in 2026, with a focus on translational neurodegeneration research. During my doctoral training, I developed a fast-throughput C. elegans phenotypic screening platform to identify compounds that enhance recovery from proteotoxic stress in vivo, and contributed to genetic and sequencing studies of patient cohorts aimed at identifying disease modifiers.

My scientific output includes first-author and collaborative peer-reviewed publications. I have presented my work in 40 poster presentations and 11 oral communications at national and international conferences/events. My work has been recognized with multiple competitive distinctions, including the Best Oral Communication Prize from the Portuguese Society for Movement Disorders and 8 individual travel grants awards. I have supervised medical students and mentored researchers, including Master’s students, PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers. I have participated as teaching staff in advanced training courses in neuroscience and bioinformatics and am an active member of national and international scientific societies, including FENS, ESN, ISN and SPN. Additionally, I contribute to multiple research projects, including past and ongoing grants funded by the “la Caixa” Foundation, ERC, US Department of Defense, FCT, NAF, Ataxia UK and the BIAL Foundation.

Overall, my work bridges translational disease-oriented research and systems neuroscience, with the goal of identifying mechanistic targets for brain disorders.