My academic journey began at the University of Aveiro (PT), where I graduated in Biology in 2004. Following an internship at the School of Ocean Sciences in Wales (UK), I enrolled in an MSc in Ecology at the University of Coimbra (PT). In 2014, I completed my PhD in Biology at the same university. Up to that point, my work primarily focused on environmental contaminants such as organotin compounds, mercury, antibiotics, and persistent organic pollutants, aiming to address questions related to the health of coastal ecosystems. Thus, after completing my PhD, the need to broaden my knowledge in analytical chemistry led me to a post-doctoral research position at Oniris – National Veterinary, Agrifood, and Food School of Nantes-Atlantique (FR). Upon my return to Portugal in 2017, I joined the Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet (University of Coimbra) as a post-doc under the project ReNATURE – Valorization of the Natural Endogenous Resources of the Centro Region. My research focused on the connectivity between coastal and estuarine habitats for marine fish. After three years of maternity leave, I am currently working as the laboratory technician responsible for implementing analytical techniques using isotope ratio mass spectrometry coupled with an elemental analyser (EA-IRMS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-MS-IRMS).

Keywords: gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, isotope ratio mass spectrometry, analytical method development.