Beatriz Serra has a degree in Biochemistry, from NOVA School of Science and Technology (2017) and a Master's degree in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from the Faculty of Farmacy of the University of Lisbon (2019). During her master's degree she carried out research work at the Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon) under the supervision of Professor Joaquim Ferreira, a renowned neurologist. Throughout this time, Beatriz successfully developed the thesis entitled "Quality and reporting of clinical practice guidelines on the management of Parkinson's Disease". From May-July 2020, Beatriz worked at the Covid-19 Diagnosis Lab (ViraVector, University of Coimbra), where she was responsible for human sample reception and performance of molecular biology methodologies for SARS-CoV-2 RNA research. Her experience in the field of gene therapy and neurosciences started in August 2020, when Beatriz was given the opportunity to work with Doctor Rita Perfeito at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC), in the Gene and Cell Therapies for the Brain group, headed by Professor Luís Pereira de Almeida. At this time, Beatriz was selected for a 3-month FCT scholarship under the course "Scientific Research Methodologies - I&D: Gene therapy and stem cells" (reference 685385), organized by the Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar from UC. Based on previous demonstrations that CYP46A1 overexpression (a pivotal enzyme in brain cholesterol homeostasis) may constitute a promising therapy for different neurodegenerative disorders, her research work relied on the intravenous delivery of viral vectors encoding CYP46A1 to a SCA3 mouse model, in order to test whether restoring its levels could ensure neuroprotection. In December 2020, Beatriz was awarded a new Research Scholarship to work in the project mentioned above (1st Dec 2020¿31th July 2021; NAF; reference 686213), and in October 2021, Beatriz was selected in a public tender to join the Project ¿HEALTHYAGING 2020¿ in the scope of gene-based therapy approaches for aging diseases (1st Oct 2021- 31th Dec 2021; FEDER; reference: CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000012). Until now, the ongoing data suggest that the use of a non-invasive strategy of gene delivery targeting the brain cholesterol metabolism using CYP46A1 foresees a promising therapeutic for SCA3. From January-June 2022, Beatriz also had the opportunity to get involved in the project "Proof of concept evaluation of the ATXN3 LNA in the Homozygous YAC hATXN3 Q84.2 mouse model" (F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd; reference: PSE-2020-113). During all this time, Beatriz had the opportunity to greatly improve not only her research skills, but also team work capacities, as the group provides excellence in knowledge and technical skills from all the members. Furthermore, Beatriz has been quite pro-active in disseminating results from the projects where she is involved and had already the opportunity to share her efforts through poster discussion and an oral presentation at national meetings. In November 2022, Beatriz was granted with a PhD Research Scholarship by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) with the project "Validation of the brain-targeting AAV-PHP.eB encoding the cholesterol hydroxylase CYP46A1 as a therapeutic strategy for spinocerebellar ataxia type-3 - towards the understanding of the neuroprotective mechanism". Her determination in unveiling CYP46A1 mechanism(s) of action will certainly open new opportunities not only for the treatment of SCA3, but also for other neurodegenerative diseases.