The complexity of host-pathogen interactions always fascinated me and I have directed my research career towards understanding molecular determinants of disease. I graduated in Biochemistry by Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (UL), in 1999. After an undergraduate training period in Centro de Patogénese Molecular of Faculdade de Farmácia, UL, I joined the Viral Pathogenesis Unit in Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) where I developed my PhD thesis under the supervision of Prof. Pedro Simas, and in 2005 I completed my degree in Biomedical Sciences (Biopathological Sciences) by Faculdade de Medicina, UL. During my PhD I developed a molecular assay for the determination of viral infection frequencies. Part of my PhD project was also performed at the Division of Virology, Cambridge, UK, which enabled me to implemented a genomic manipulation strategy to produce viral recombinants. As a result of my my PhD work, I have authored 5 reports including one in Nature Immunology and one as first author published in J. Virology. In 2005, I moved to Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM), where I maximized on my molecular biology training and on the rich environment at iMM that hosted several groups working in immunology. I demonstrated that elimination of a single CD8+ T cell epitope from the viral genome impacts on the infection outcome and extended these observations further by genetically manipulating the viral genome to express different strength epitopes and thus contributing towards the understanding of the control of lymphoproliferation associated with herpesvirus infection. My post-doctoral work resulted in two publications as first author, both in PLoS Pathogens, as well as publications in journals such as Immunity and Cell Reports, where I contributed with my expertise in viral pathogenesis and in genomic manipulation of herpesvirus. This post-doctoral period was followed by a decision of making a career shift towards synchronizing actual research with science management. In 2013 Prof. Maria Mota invited me to join her research unit that focuses in malaria and specifically in host-pathogen interactions. My role focused initially in the daily laboratory management but with significant participation in different projects in the lab and support for project writing and reporting. More recently I focused also in the implementation of state-of-the-art Plasmodium genome engineering and manipulation methodologies. This has been implemented for malaria parasites that infect rodents and is currently undergoing as platform for genomic manipulation of the human malaria parasite, P. falciparum. This an extremely timely and exciting possibility given that iMM has built a facility for the production of P. falciparum sporozoites thus, becoming one of the very few places in the world capable of maintaining the entire parasite life cycle in laboratory. Additionally, given my expertise in mouse models of infection and immunity I often steer small research projects in the lab that spin of collaborations with other research groups worldwide and that require the Mota Lab know how on rodent models of malaria. Another important part of my work in the Mota Lab is younger researcher’s supervision and mentoring towards the training of the younger generations.