Cláudia Bessa (CB) obtained her degree in Biology in 2009, and completed the master in Molecular Genetics in 2012. Hereafter, she worked as research fellow within a project granted by FCT that envisaged functional, molecular and pharmacological studies of p53 proteins in cancer. In 2013, she got a PhD scholarship from FCT under the PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto. During her PhD, CB worked on the search for new pharmacological modulators of PKC isozymes with potential application on cancer therapy using a chemical library of natural and semi-synthetic compounds. Remarkably, she identified the first small-molecule PKCdelta-selective activator, showing its promising antitumor activity in colorectal cancer (CRC). This study was carried out in collaboration with M. Kazanietz (University of Pennsylvania, USA), which allowed her to acquire a deepen expertise in PKC pharmacology and PKC-regulated signaling pathways in cancer. Furthermore, she got training at other national institutions, including Faculty of Medicine-UP and CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra. At the same time, CB integrated the team of other FCT-funded projects working on the search for new therapeutic strategies to circumvent the impairment of p53 pathway in human cancers. Within PhD, CB published 7 original articles, 2 as first author (Cell Death Dis and IJMS) and 5 as co-author (e.g., Oncotarget) in peer-reviewed international journals in oncology, as well as 1 book chapter in co-authorship (Elsevier). Her findings had translated into a national patent and an international patent request. She was also awarded with an EMBO/FEBS fellowship to present her results regarding the identification of the PKCd-selective activator at the prestigious 'The FEBS EMBO 2014 Conference'. Moreover, she co-supervised an undergraduate student and 2 MSc students, participated in the scientific jury of a MSc thesis, and was invited to teach lessons of Microbiology at Faculty of Pharmacy-UP. Her research was presented in 8 oral communications and 4 posters at national and international meetings, including International Conference on Cancer Research and Targeted Therapy. After completing PhD, CB moved to the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge - Lisbon, as researcher at the Jordan's group under the scope of a FTC-funded project. There, she extended her research to the study of inflammatory tumor microenvironment, and how it modulates the alternative splicing patterns in order to support the malignant progression of CRC. Interestingly, she was able to provide evidence that further supported the close association between inflammatory conditions and CRC development, and identify potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the prevention and/or treatment of CRC. She published an original article (Cancers), and an invited review (IJMS), in peer-reviewed international journals (both as first author). Finally, her work was presented at national and international meeting, such as 4th International Caparica Conference in SPLICING 2021 and Goodbye Flat Biology: Next Generation Cancer Models - EARC Conferences. Meanwhile, she successfully completed the Advanced Laboratory Animal Science Course – FELASA Functions A/B/D at i3S – University of Porto, which was essential for her experimental approach as it enabled her to carry out experimentation on animals. Last year, she embraced a project in the emerging topic of cancer immunology/glycobiology, and joined the Pinho's Lab also as researcher at i3S. Here, she explored the potential of aberrant CRC glycosylation as a novel immunotherapeutic strategy to prevent and/or treat CRC. In parallel, she developed an independent research line focused on the impact of glycans on circulating tumor cells biology, immune recognition and metastatic competence, and co-supervised a PhD student.