Ana Paula Pêgo (FBSE) got her Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials from the University of Twente, the Netherlands, in 2002. In 2003 she moved to INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica. Already with tenure, in 2012 she became a Principal Investigator founding the nanoBiomaterials for Targeted Therapies (nBTT) Group in 2014, later integrated into i3S in 2015. In 2023, she was promoted to Coordinating Researcher. Since 2019, she serves as Vice-Director of i3S, being the Head of Strategy & Creation of Value. The nBTT group aims to develop "smart" biomaterials, designed at the nanoscale with controlled architectures and functionalities, to provide in situ and in a targeted manner the required signals to promote nervous tissue repair and restoration of function. Main objectives include: a) the design of (nano)biomaterials to probe and/or induce specific cellular/tissue responses; b) evaluation in vitro, ex-vivo and in vivo of the biological performance of the developed (nano)biomaterials; c) the development of in vitro models to dissect biological mechanisms and test new therapeutic targets. Three strategies are being followed: i) development of materials for preparation of cellular grafts to be used in nerve defect correction; ii) development of biomaterial-based nanoparticles (vectors) for nucleic acid delivery; and iii) the design of tissue engineered platforms for testing drugs and molecules for tissue regeneration/repair and drug targeting. Emphasis is given to the application of both in vitro and in vivo bioimaging tools to assess the potential of the developed strategies and a number of techniques/methods have been established at the nBTT in order to pursue the above-mentioned strategies: i) synthesis and characterization of synthetic polyesters and polycarbonate materials; ii) synthesis and functionalization of biodegradable dendrimers; iii) functionalization of chitosan, chitosan scaffolds and chitosan-based nanoparticles; iv) methods of preparation and characterization of nanoparticles based on polycations and nucleic acids (DNA, siRNA, AON, mRNA); v) primary cultures of neurons (cortical neurons, hippocampal neurons, DRG explants and dissociated cultures), astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes; vi) cultures of neural and neural stem cell lines; vii) organotypic brain cultures; viii) clinically relevant in vivo models of nerve regeneration. Societal and ethical issues that concern Regenerative Medicine and NanoMedicine are also topics in which Ana Pêgo is involved. Pêgo participated in a total of 54 projects (FCT, CRUP, ANI, EU, INFARMED, AFOSR and Private Foundations: SCML, SCMP, La Caixa), being the PI in 16. As a result, she secured a total of 2M euros in projects where she was PI and 6.9M euros in projects where she was a team member. These figures exclude competitive Marie Curie Individual Grants, as well as PhD, post-doc, or CEEC contracts from FCT. She has mentored 6 post-doctoral fellows, supervised 14 completed PhD theses, and overseen 54 MSc theses. Currently, she supervises 2 junior researchers, 1 post-doctoral fellow, 9 PhD students (2 with EU Marie Curie Grants obtained through EU-funded Doctoral Networks), and 2 MSc students. She has published 99 articles in peer reviewed international journals and 10 book chapters (h index=30, Google Schoolar Feb 28, 2024). Has 5 patents registered (2 licensed). Organized/chaired 15 scientific events, including the 31st Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) in 2021 (Porto, Portugal). She has been appointed the Scientific Director of the Bioimaging Centre for Biomaterials and Regenerative Therapies of INEB and she is an Invited Associate Professor at the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto. Currently Ana Paula Pêgo is member of the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science (AAAS), Associate Editor of Biomaterials and Ex-Oficio President of the ESB (has been President between 2021-23).