I obtained my PhD in Biology in 2015, at the University of Coimbra. My research concerned the molecular mechanisms of Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), and was developed at the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), at Professor Ana Luisa Carvalho’s lab, dedicated to basic neuroscience. Drawing from the expertise I earned in the field of polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases and aiming at contributing to the development of advanced therapies for MJD, in 2016 I joined Professor Luís Almeida’s lab (CNC) as a post-doc. In his lab my researched focused on applying gene editing-based silencing and correction to MJD therapy. During that period I specialized in the CRISPR system, having attended a competitive EMBO course on genome engineering at the Max Planck Institute (Dresden, Germany). Apart from that, I also contributed to projects exploring other therapies, both pharmacological and gene-based, and I was engaged in two JPND international consortia dedicated to polyQ diseases research. I was also elected as a representative of CNC post-docs, and I co-organized a symposium addressing challenges in building scientific careers. In 2019, I moved to the University of Algarve (UAlg), where I was hired as an Invited Assistant Professor and then as a Contracted Researcher at the lab of Professor Clévio Nóbrega. The lab is dedicated to research on MJD and spinocerebellear ataxia type 2 (SCA2), and aims at developing advanced therapies for these diseases. My project addresses the potential of RNA-binding proteins as disease modulators in SCA2, but I have also been involved in the generation of novel animal models for SCA2 and the development of a CRISPR-based therapeutic strategy for SCA2. Since moving to UAlg, I have also become thoroughly engaged in teaching, giving Neurobiology and Gene Therapy classes to BSc and MSc students. I have published a total of 10 papers in international journals, 8 in the last 5 years (3 as first author; 6 in Q1 journals and 2 in Q2 journals). 2 additional papers have been submitted, and 3 are in preparation. I have co-authored (and fully illustrated) a book, the Handbook of Gene and Cell Therapy, and I am also the first author of a book chapter on gene therapies for polyQ diseases. My publications have garnered 285 citations (221 since 2016) and I have a h-index of 8. In 2019 I was awarded a 15.000 USD seed grant project, as Principal Investigator, by USA’s National Ataxia Foundation. I have been the main supervisor of 3 MSc students, I have co-supervised 2 others, and I am currently (co-)supervising 2 PhD students, one MSc student and 2 BSc students. So far, I have participated in 16 juries of academic degrees. At this point in my career, I am focused on establishing myself as a researcher at UAlg, and at acquiring higher degrees of scientific independence. I am bent on bringing together my background on neuroscience, gene therapy, gene editing, and polyQ diseases in order to better understand, and treat, these disorders.