João Filipe Viana graduated in Biochemistry (School of Sciences, University of Minho) in 2017. His final project, developed at the Life and Health Research Institute (ICVS) under the supervision of João Filipe Oliveira (PhD), focused on the role of intracellular calcium elevations in astrocytes from adult and aged mice. JFV continued to pursue his MSc studies in Health Sciences. During his MSc, JFV generated different mouse models using genetic approaches such as tamoxifen-inducible and intracranial virus injection techniques. He also learned and performed several behavioral tests and molecular analyses, which largely contributed to his technical expertise. During this time, JFV was also part of the organizing committee for the “ICVS Satellite Meeting” (July 2019, Braga, Portugal), a symposium included in the scientific program of XIV European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease. He also participated in several national and international meetings presenting his work. Recently, JFV contributed to an international collaborative study that resulted in a high-impact publication (Batiuk et al., Nature Communications, 2020). JFV is currently a PhD student. Until now, he has been involved in 3 projects (one already finished with success) to understand the involvement of astrocytes in neuronal activity modulation, more specifically in psychiatry disorders. During these years, being one of the most experienced team members in the laboratory, he contributed to the supervision of 2 BSc and 4 MSc students and every aspect concerning project management, leading to the success of these projects.