I graduated in Marine Biology in 2012 from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil. At that time, I studied the spatial and temporal variations of zooplankton communities through taxonomic identification. In 2017, I finished my master’s in Ecology at UFRJ, where I worked on the monitoring of coral-algae interactions. That was, until now, the most surprising time for me when I learned many new skills, discovered my passion for seaweeds, and got proposed to marry underwater during a monitoring activity. In 2018, my husband and I moved to Portugal, looking for new challenges and purposes in life, which indeed we found. The year 2020 marked our lives forever because of the birth of our son. In 2021, I got accepted in the Biotechnology PhD program at the University of Aveiro. In 2022, I joined this incredible and productive group. Right now, I have a whole PhD ahead in the topics of macroalgae aquaculture and their biochemical valorisation inside the sustainable blue economy strategy.

Keywords: aquaculture, macroalgae, photosynthetic pigments, polysaccharides, lipids, epibiont algae, epiphytic algae.