Patrícia Araújo obtained a B.Sc. in Applied Biology from the University of Minho, in 2022. For her final degree project, Patrícia was involved in the study of the effect of a new pharmacological compound for Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on chronic stress and animal behavior. Currently, Patrícia is pursuing her M.Sc. in Health Sciences at the School of Medicine of the University of Minho. During the lab rotation, she received training on molecular biology and biochemistry techniques, while investigating the impact of different dietary regimens/ metabolic switching on Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) pathogenesis. Nowadays, she is focused on investigating the potential therapeutic effect of a multimodal antidepressant, Vortioxetine, on MJD. Using transgenic mouse models of MJD, Patrícia hopes to contribute to the understanding of the role of serotonin in neurodegeneration.