Elisabete Nascimento Gonçalves (ENG) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD). This versatile degree allowed her to contact with many areas from traditional engineering to medicine-related subjects. She also holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering (UPorto), acquiring knowledge in the areas of cell therapies and animal experimentation. During this period, ENG gained hands-on experience with laboratory animals from which she harvested adipose tissue and performed a range of laboratory techniques, such as cell culture and histology. This experience significantly sparked her interest in scientific research. Afterwards, ENG worked as medical representative for a multinational pharmaceutical company for 2 years, focusing on cardiometabolic therapies. During this time, she became increasingly aware of the clinical complexities and side effects associated with various therapies, as well as some of the unmet patient needs. This exposure to real-world medical challenges and long-term consequences of illness reignited her enthusiasm for research. ENG also worked as product specialist in a retail store and as administrative assistant in a medical center. Over 4 years outside academia, ENG maintained strong connections with academia and her supervisors, contributing to the FCT-funded project “RUNNING away from prostate cancer: WALKING through the molecular basis of physical activity”, which later originated her doctoral thesis. ENG returned to academia supported by a PhD fellowship funded by FCT in a competitive application. ENG also concluded the course “Cie^ncias em Animais de Laborato´rio-Categoria B”, recognized by DGAV, which qualifies her to conduct experimental protocols using laboratory animals. She completed a PhD in Veterinary Sciences with a specialization in Biomedical Sciences, titled “Contribution to the study of prostate cancer: lifestyle influence in an animal model”. During the PhD, ENG took 9 months of parental leave due to a high-risk pregnancy. In her PhD project, ENG implemented a hormonally and chemically induced prostate cancer rat model to assess the impact of chestnut flower extract consumption and to evaluate the influence of aerobic exercise on the development of prostate lesions. Through her doctoral work, ENG gained independence to handle rodents, administer drugs, perform euthanasia and collect animal samples. ENG also acquired skills to perform and interpret the results of several methodologies: histopathology, immunohistochemistry and immunophenotyping analysis by flow cytometry. ENG had the opportunity to collaborate with international researchers, leveraging diverse knowledge and perspectives, for example, in proteomics and histology, through partnerships with the University of British Columbia (Canada) and Federal University of Maranhão (Brazil), respectively. Parallelly, ENG participated in scientific projects within the research team, such as investigating the effects of plant extracts with bioactive properties in FBV/n and K14HPV16 mice, as well as the characterization of animal models of colorectal cancer and obesity. ENG’s main scientific interests lie in biomedicine, namely the study of diseases using animal models and the evaluation of lifestyle in disease progression. She currently holds a research fellowship at UTAD, funded by the Vine & Wine Portugal project, entitled “BFF_Bioprocessed Fertilizers: an ecoFriendly technology for nutrient recycling and environmental sustainability”. Her role involves developing eco-friendly solutions using earthworms to valorize wine industry by-products, contributing to sustainability while assessing impacts on earthworm health.In total, over the past five years, ENG published 17 scientific articles, 10 of which as first author, and has contributed to two book chapters, 20 oral communications and 25 poster communications at scientific meetings.