Maria João Pedrosa Ferreira Moreno Silvestre completed her PhD in Biochemistry in 2000 from Universidade Nova de Lisboa Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology, and a Degree in Biochemistry in 1990 from Universidade de Lisboa Faculty of Sciences. She made post-doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, USA (2000-2001), and was Guest Staff at the NIH, USA (2017) and ETH-Zurich, Switzerland (2020). Currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry (University of Coimbra), where she has been the Coordinator of the Master in Chemistry (2010-2023) and is the responsible for several courses. Is an integrated member of the Coimbra Chemistry Center, where she coordinates the research group "Biological Chemistry" and is the scientific leader of the specialization area in "Biomembranes-Structure and Function”. She has received 9 awards and/or honors. Published 99 articles in international scientific journals, including Scientific Reports, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, Food Chemistry, Molecular Pharmaceutics, Journal of the American Chemical Society and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; published 2 book chapters and was the editor of 2 books. Participated in the organization of 25 national or international scientific events, of which 7 as main organizer. She supervised 4 post-doctoral fellows, 10 doctoral theses (2 of which as co-supervisor), 23 Master's dissertations (8 of which as co-supervisor), and more than 30 Graduation dissertations, including 3 from international students. Was member of academic juries in 17 PhD thesis and in several dozens of Master's theses, most of the later as president of the jury. Is a member of the editorial board of 1 international scientific journal, and guest editor for special issues in two more. She provided scientific review in more than 30 international scientific journals, having edited/reviewed over 100 manuscripts. Participated as Researcher in 17 projects being the Principal Researcher in 4 projects, including several projects with the industry, and participated in the evaluation committee of research projects for national and international agencies. Maria João Pedrosa Ferreira Moreno Silvestre works in the area of Natural Sciences with an emphasis on Biological Chemistry. The equilibrium distribution of drug-like molecules in the blood and their rate of permeation through hydrophobic biological barriers has been the major subject of research during the last decades. With this goal she has been performing several studies, mostly using liposomes as model systems for the biological membranes. More recently, the in vitro systems used have increased significantly in their complexity, approaching the properties of the in vivo relevant systems. This includes the use of native membranes (including membrane proteins such as the efflux pump P-glycoprotein), as well as permeability assays using cell monolayers. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify the rules that govern permeation of small molecules through biological membranes, with high relevance in Pharmacological and Medical Sciences (drug ADME/tox profile, membranotropic drugs, and lipid-based drug delivery formulations) and also in Biology and Biochemistry (for the understanding of cell and tissue homeostasis). Food Chemistry is another area of research interest and activity, namely in the valorization of Portuguese endemic wild plants, and on the development of functional food with health benefits for the prevention and control of lipid disorders.