I have a PhD degree in Microbial Biochemistry from Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica/UNL, and during my scientific career of over 15 years I co-authored about 25 peer-reviewed publications and was awarded the Gulbenkian Science Prize in Applied Sciences and Technology. A few years after my PhD, I was invited to create the Division of Research Support and Institutional Development at the Rectorate of UNL – main duties included collecting data about research at the university, strategic planning, analysis, reporting and advising to the Rectoral team, conception of external reports and brochures. I then moved to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, where I developed skills in statistics, data analysis and visualization applied to science policy and research evaluation. As Head of the Division of Support to the Board of Directors, I gained experience in team and organizational management, and engaged in institutional interactions with national and international stakeholders. In my current position as data and policy analyst at the Division of Studies and Planning, I deepened my knowledge of the Portuguese research system and of analytical tools that contribute to informed policy making.The positions I held also gave me experience in international fora. At present, I am national delegate to the OECD Expert Group on Management and Analysis of R&D and Innovation Administrative Data (MARIAD) and to the European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH Plus). I was a national expert for the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Working Group on Monitoring of Research Infrastructures Performance and member of the Management Committee of a COST Action on Research Evaluation.My diversified work experience gave me a comprehensive perspective of the research field. As academic, I conducted state of the art research and communicated its results in different vehicles; papers in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of microbiology and molecular biology and a high number of oral communications in conferences. As a freelance medical writer, I got acquainted with medical terminology/concepts and transmitted it with rigor to different audiences. As a research manager, I gained insight on funding agencies’ policies and contributed to define institutional strategies. Daily work at FCT implies a deep knowledge of researchers and research institutions in all scientific domains, and for fulfilling my duties I still profit from the knowledge acquired during my career as researcher.