My scientific career highlights include PhD, becoming an Invited Assistant Professor and establishing an innovative research line that bridges fundamental and applied research. I completed my PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology in 2008, focusing on neurophysiology and the neuromodulation of neuronal cells. Following my PhD, I served as an Invited Assistant Professor at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), where I taught BSc and MSc courses in subjects such as Cell Biology and Cellular Genetics. This experience allowed me to integrate an academic career and to develop and deepen communication, educational, and leadership skills. During 4 years (2010-2014), I also had the opportunity to integrate within UTAD’s scientific projects, being supervisor of 3 MSc thesis and 9 BSc projects, and publishing my 1st independent paper (Santos, S et al. 2016 Comp Biochem & Physiol; 1.7 Category Normalized Citation Impact (WoS)). After 2014, at CNC-UC I established a pioneering research line investigating the disruption of biological clocks in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and insomnia, with the goal of identifying novel biomarkers for diagnosis. This work integrates fundamental and translational research, exemplified by collaborations with clinicians at CHUC and USA. At the same time, I was responsible for the generation of iPSCs in a project that brings together 6 international partners within an European Consortium (JPND). This research allowed me to create a subgroup within the Neuroendocrinology & Aging group - Sleep and biological rhythms in ageing and age-related diseases where I am the PI. I am co-author of 29 peer-reviewed journal articles, achieving an h-index of 18 with 780 citations (WoS). I supervise lab rotations and thesis for PhD (1 completed, 2 in progress) and MSc's students (5 completed, 4 in progress). I have also delivered 40 invited conferences/lectures within several programs and degrees (experimental biology, biomedicine, cellular & molecular biology, pharmaceutical biotechnology, among others). I have participated in 11 scientific projects, leading 7 of them, including 2 ongoing projects. In this context, I secured my 1st scientific project as PI (237 K€) and I am the first author of a highly recognized paper on the impact of sleep apnea on the hallmarks of aging, published in Trends in Molecular Medicine (51 citations (WoS); doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2017.06.006). Moreover, I have served as senior author on 4 of my most prominent publications (with 5 more currently under review) in the fields of sleep and chronobiology. Notably, the paper by Gaspar, L. et al., published in Ebiomedicine (1.7 Category Normalized Citation Impact (WoS); doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103248), was awarded by a Portuguese medical society, emphasizing its importance to the fields of sleep medicine and pulmonology. The translational aspects of my research work are strongly supported by collaboration with clinical doctors at the Coimbra Hospital, particularly Joaquim Moita & Joana Serra from the Sleep Unit, and Isabel Santana & João Durães from the Neurology Unit. International collaborators come from Europe: Ângela Relógio (Charité Medical University of Berlin, Germany); Marco Brancaccio (Imperial College, UK); Michael Hastings (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge UK); Urs Albrecht (Fribourg University, Switzerland); Joaquin Castilla (CIC bioGUNE, Basque Country, Spain), Olga Barca-Mayo (CiMUS, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain) and in the USA: Amita Sehgal (Perelman School of Medicine, Univ of Pennsylvania) and David Smith (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center). In 2011-2012 and 2020-2021, I took career breaks for high-risk pregnancies and maternity leave. The latter coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting my ability to supervise, fundraise, and publish. Despite these challenges, I continued advancing my research, demonstrating resilience and adaptability.