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Since her PhD, she has focused on developing the area of Plant Reproduction at the Biology department at FCUP. She established her own lab, SPRED group, http://www.fc.up.pt/agplab/, in 2007, based at FCUP, FC4 building, and dedicated herself to implementing and develop disciplines where this theme was addressed, and since the beginning of her career, she has dedicated her research work to the study a very specific group of cell wall glycoproteins, the arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), exploring its importance in the reproduction of plants, becoming, from a very early age, a pair of experienced researchers in its field at national and international level, through participation in international courses and congresses, where she has always been present presenting innovative works.

Her research work has attracted a large component of funding for the institution and its research team, coming not only from national sources of support (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, FCT) but also from international sources (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, COST Actions, bilateral cooperation projects). The benefits of funded projects throughout her career have not only benefited the candidate, her research group and the host institution that is FCUP, but also extended to students of this institution, more precisely in the Department of Biology.

All this work, developed and established over more than a decade, supports the stable steps she intends to take in the future, with a strategy now also supported by a young, motivated and dynamic team. Keeping the same guidelines as her Scientific Project and continuously stimulating the improvement of the academic and scientific conditions and skills of her work team, always in a committed way, stability is guaranteed to attract new and different sources of national and international funding.

The continuity of the investigation proposed by the candidate has been ensured by the attraction of national and international funding in highly competitive competitions. This ability to attract funding is an asset to the Department, with the inherent prestige that these projects bring to the institution. Overall, the candidate has been the main driver of the preparation of projects and applications, bringing all of them to fruition, leading a careful and very successful coordination and implementation, and it is in this line that it intends to continue its work, always motivated, dedicated and attentive to each and every student trained in this academy with whom it interacts, providing them with all the necessary conditions for them to become human resources of excellence in the sector.