Ana Margarida Duarte Salgueiro completed her integrated master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in September 2022 from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Coimbra. She wrote her master's thesis entitled "Gene Therapy of Huntington's Disease", where she delved deeper into the different therapeutic approaches and strategies being developed in the pre-clinical and clinical phases, emphasizing gene therapy strategies for Huntington's Disease. The quality of the work was recognized with a mark of excellence (18 in 20). Motivated by the scientific curiosity and the relevance of the field of disorders with no treatment, she has been collaborating and working in the internationally recognized group led by Professor Luís Pereira de Almeida - group “Gene and Stem Cell Therapies for the Brain” at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra (CNC-UC). She initially joined the group as an undergraduate student, contributing to two funded projects in the context of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado-Joseph Disease. This internship and her commitment, participation, and interest in the research work were recognized as co-authorship in two communications (poster and oral communication) presented at the International Congress, 29th European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Congress. For six months, she was a Voluntary Researcher, but more recently, since March 2023, she was granted a competitive research fellowship to continue to do research work in the same group, always with a big interest in Machado-Joseph Disease (MJD). Later, in September 2023, she earned a Master's fellowship to join the European JPND-funded NEURODIET project. Through this experience, she expanded her scientific knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases, gene and cell therapies, and developed laboratory skills in cell culture, Western blotting, qPCR, immunohistochemistry, DNA/RNA/protein extraction and quantification, cellular transfection, and animal experimentation. Ana also holds FELASA B certification and DGAV accreditation, allowing her to handle and conduct research with laboratory animals. She has refined her data analysis and scientific communication skills through active participation in weekly research meetings and her involvement in science communication initiatives. Her passion for translating research into patient impact is reflected in her active engagement with patient communities. She attended the HDYO International Young Adult Congress in Glasgow and joined the Portuguese Association of Huntington’s Patients to better understand the real-life impact of neurodegenerative diseases. Her commitment is deeply personal, as her father lives with Huntington’s disease, and she faces a genetic risk of developing the disease. This personal connection fuels her determination to drive research forward and make a difference in the lives of affected patients and families. Ana is also involved in scientific event organization, contributing to the Mini-Symposium “Fundamental Research on Ageing: Why It Matters?” (2024) and the NEURODIET Consortium Meeting (2023). Additionally, she has begun mentoring and tutoring younger researchers. She has an Advanced Certificate in English through the Cambridge English Language Assessment, which means she has a good command of the English language.