Senior Coordinator Researcher in Ocean Bioeconomy at the University of Aveiro/CESAM, where she holds the ERA CHAIR BESIDE (Environmental Economics and Sustainable Natural Resources Management). She coordinates the BESIDE team that brings together researchers and PhD students from the natural and socio-economic sciences. She is also coordinator of the SEGES research Group integrated into CESAM’s Research Cluster #6 – Circular Economy, Resources and Energy Optimization, (which she coordinated in 2025) involving more than 35 researchers working on topics such as bioeconomy, sustainable natural resource management and nature-based solutions. She leads and/or participates in several European and transnational projects, including WIN-BIG (Women in Blue Economy), SMARTDEC (Decarbonization) or REDRESS (Deep Sea Valuation and Restoration). She served as Director-General for Maritime Policy and continues to hold positions in European bodies such as the EU Mission Ocean and the CBE-JU. With a PhD in Biomedicine (Imperial College London) and executive training in Leadership and Strategy (Harvard Business School) and Sustainable Finances (Católica University), she has over 25 years of experience across science, industry and public policy.