I graduated in Biology and followed that to a PhD in Ecology at the University of Lisbon studying nitrogen cycling in salt marshes. After that, I had a couple of post-docs into the adaptations of motile sediment diatoms to light and tidal regimes. At the crossroads, I decided for a 3-year “sabbatical” studying Cinema. Back to Academia, I found the woman of my life and the wonders and worries of parenthood. I worked in the University of Copenhagen exploring photosynthesis in biofilms of microalgae and cyanobacteria. But in 2016, I returned to Portugal as a post-doc at University of Aveiro & CESAM to study photosynthesis in Sacoglossa sea slugs capable of retaining functional chloroplasts stolen from their macroalgal food sources. In 2020, I obtained an Assistant Researcher position (CEECIND/01434/2018) at UA/CESAM. My most recent work focuses on understanding the response of photosynthetic organisms to changing light environments, including algae (micro and macro) and endosymbiotic associations (corals and photosynthetic sea slugs). I am currently engaged in several studies involving optimization of macroalgae aquaculture and the smart valorization of these marine resources.

Keywords: algae, aquaculture, diatoms, HPLC, kleptoplasty, light stress, photosynthesis, photoprotection, pigments, scalar irradiance, sea slugs, seaweeds.