Irina Castro works at the Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra. In 2009 she graduated in Applied Ecology from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro. In 2011 she completed her Masters in Environmental Engineering and in the same year joined CES as a research fellow in the project "BIOSENSE | The engagement of science with society: Life Sciences, Social Sciences, and Publics", coordinated by João Arriscado Nunes. Since then, she has collaborated in the development, promotion and evaluation of science communication initiatives and the promotion of science-society relationships, with a particular focus on the relationship between society and biotechnology. In 2022, she completed her Ph.D. in the Governance, Knowledge and Innovation program (sociology branch) in which she developed her dissertation on the ontological construction of transgenic seeds through the practices of scientists and scientific controversies. In recent years she has worked closely with João Arriscado Nunes (CES), Rita Serra (CES), and Raúl García-Barrios, the latter researcher at the Regional Center for Multidisciplinary Research at the Autonomous University of Mexico (CRIM / UNAM). In 2014 she became a project manager at the Project Management Office at CES. She is a feminist and anti-fascist activist. She is a member of the EcPol-Portuguese Political Economy Association and of ENSSER-The European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility. Since 2019 she has been on the advisory board of GeneWatch UK.