Daniela Monteiro Fernandes graduated in Biochemistry by the University of Minho in 2016, with the final research trainee at Life and Health Sciences Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine (EM), University of Minho. During her undergraduate training period she focused on the understanding of the role of Tau protein in brain structure and function, under the supervision of Doctor Ioannis Sotiropoulos, where she acquired expertise in animal manipulation and behavior, tissue fractionation and analysis techniques as well as neuronal reconstruction techniques. She then obtained a MSc in Health Sciences from the School of Medicine, University of Minho, under the supervision of Doutor Ioannis Sotiropoulos and in collaboration with Servier Laboratoires. During this period, she focused on understanding the benefits of therapeutically target AMPA receptors in a sporadic animal model of Alzheimer's disease. During this period she also collaborated with Professor Roland Brant's Lab, in a project aiming to understand the interplay between Tau protein and chronic stress in Alzheimer's disease synaptic pathology, where she acquired skills in fluorescent microscopy imaging and neuronal spine reconstruction from primary cell cultures. After, she worked as a research fellow in Doctor Patrícia Maciel's lab, aiming to dissect the role of glial cells for Machado-Joseph disease onset and progression. After completing this fellowship, she enrolled in a PhD program funded by FCT, where she focused on the behavioral and neuronal physiology characterization in a mouse model of Rett Syndrome, while testing the therapeutic efficacy of targetting the serotonergic system in this model. Her work resulted in 3 scientific articles and 3 oral communication as first author in international scientific meetings, and co-authorship in several works.