Leandro concluded his BSc in Biotechnology at the University of Aveiro in 2021 where he did an internship at CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials and at the Department of Engineering and Materials, to develop the project “Oxidative enzymes immobilization on functionalized diamond surfaces”, exploring the very first steps of a boron-doped diamond-based enzymatic biosensor for phenolic compounds with potential applications in monitoring neurologic biomarkers. Next, he completed the MSc in Biochemistry and Biomedicine in 2024 at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon where he worked with Dr. Sandra Vaz at Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, in the project “Role of astrocytes in the endocannabinoid-mediated long-term depression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)“. The aim was to unveil the astroglial CB1R role in the synaptic plasticity of mPFC and its translational value for depressive-like behavior. Briefly, they proposed a new mechanism behind long-term depression (LTD) maintenance where astrocytes respond to endocannabinoids by increasing their intracellular Ca²⁺ frequency and decreasing glutamate uptake, ultimately shaping LTD (DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4281560/v1). This work presented in three international conferences and a national oral communication. Next, Leandro was awarded with a PhD Studentship (2024.01292.BDANA) by FCT, to develop the project “AstroMap: Understanding Adult Astrogliogenesis in Health and Depression” under the supervision of Dr. Luisa Pinto, Dr. Sandra Vaz and Dr. Teresa Canedo.