Liliana Bernardino currently holds the position of Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Principal Investigator at the Health Sciences Research Center (CICS-UBI) of the University of Beira Interior (UBI). She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Coimbra in 2008, conducting research at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research (Milan, Annamaria Vezzani¿s lab), and at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense (Denmark; Jens Zimmer¿s lab). Her doctoral studies contributed to revealing the dual role of inflammatory molecules on neuronal survival and repair (Bernardino et al., 2005, J Neurosci; Bernardino et al., 2008, J Neurochem, Stem Cells). She pursued postdoctoral training at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), and the University of Beira Interior (UBI) from 2008 to 2012. During her postdoctoral studies, she unveiled cellular and molecular processes triggering neurogenesis (Bernardino et al., 2012, Stem Cells; Santos et al., 2012, ACS Nano). This significant contribution to the field earned her prestigious recognitions, including the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Research Prize and the L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science (2010). From 2010 to 2012, she was appointed as an Auxiliary Professor at the Portuguese Catholic University, teaching several curricular units to the Bachelor in Biomedical Sciences and Master in Dental Medicine. In 2013, she was appointed as Auxiliar Professor at UBI, and from 2023 she is Associate Professor. Her current main scientific interest is the development of novel therapies for Parkinson's disease. She was a pioneer in identifying novel targets (microRNA, retinoic acid, histamine) along with innovative delivery strategies (nanoparticles, small extracellular vesicles) that have therapeutic benefits for Parkinson's disease and stroke (Ferreira et al., 2016, Nanoscale; Saraiva et al., 2016, J Control Rel; Ferreira et al., 2020, Nature Communications; Esteves et al., 2022, Mol Therapy, etc). She is a (co)author of 66 peer-reviewed articles published in international journals, including renowned journals in the field, 1 book, 12 book chapters, and 4 patents. She has a h-index of 33 and more than 3.5K citations (Scopus). She (co)supervised 3 post-docs, 8 Ph.D. candidates (funded by FCT, MIT-Portugal PhD program, EMBO grant), and 19 MSc theses (Biomedical Sciences, Medicine, Biochemistry, Biotechnology). Dr. Bernardino actively participated as a researcher and Principal Investigator in national and international grants (total of 18 grants, >3500K euro). She has played pivotal roles in numerous management activities, including President of the Portuguese Society for Stem Cells and Cell Therapies (SPCE-TC, elected in October 2023), and appointed as a member of the Faculty Council (2020-present), Pedagogical Committee (2017-2023), and Director of the Bachelor in Biomedical Sciences (2017-2023) at the Faculty of Health Sciences (UBI). She was also a member of the Executive Committee and elected coordinator of the Neurologic and Neurovascular Disorders Group (2015-2017, 2021-2022), a coordinator of the Interaction with the Society committee (2015-2017) at CICS-UBI. She has been an evaluator of several funding agencies, such as EIC Pathfinder Open, FCT-Portugal, Marie-Curie fellowships and doctoral networks, National Science Foundation (NSF), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST actions), etc. She has been a Reviewer, Review Editor, Editor of Special Issue, Associate and Guest Associate Editor of different Journals. She contributed to the organization of national and international scientific events, was an invited speaker at national and international conferences (e.g., Annual Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation 2012 and 2023, among others), and coordinated and organized several outreach activities.