Nuno Empadinhas holds a degree in Biology and a PhD in Biochemistry with a specialty in Microbiology from the University of Coimbra (UC). He is Principal Investigator at CIBB - Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra. Since 2024 he is the Coordinator of the PhD Programme in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB). His research is focused on the biology of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), some being disinfectant-resistant opportunistic pathogens detected in drinking water, capable of causing severe antibiotic-resistant infections, yet overlooked by public health authorities. NE also interested in the gut microbiome in Parkinson's disease and biosynthesis of neuroactive compounds by gut microbiota. He has deciphered mechanisms of microbial adaptation to extreme environments (salterns, deserts, hyperthermal vents) revealing the biosynthetic pathways for glycosidic compatible solutes. He has elucidated steps in the biogenesis of polymethylated polysaccharides in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and NTM. In his career as a molecular microbiologist, he has identified genes and enzyme activities that founded several new families at the IUBMB database (https://www.enzyme-database.org/query.php?name=Empadinhas). He has supervised/co-supervised 11 PhD and 12 MSc students and 4 postdoctoral fellows, co-authored 78 papers (75% Q1) and 6 book chapters. In 2012, he was awarded the Japanese Mizutani Glycoscience Grant, the first time attributed in Portugal since its inception in 1993. His transdisciplinary research attracted ~2 million euros in funding from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, Infarmed, Cure Parkinson's UK, and was awarded the Mantero Belard Prize (2016), the Thomé Villar Award (2017), the Seed Project Award UC (2020), and the Pfizer Award of Basic Research (2023).