Ana Sanchez is an assistant professor of Science Communication at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, in Portugal. She is currently vice-dean of ITQB NOVA, one of the nine organic units of Universidade NOVA, dedicated to research and postgraduate training in molecular biosciences. Her areas of responsibility include education and academic affairs, science communication and outreach, and IT.Ana started as a plant biologist, obtaining her PhD at the University of Nijmegen (2001). She spent four years as full-time postdoctoral researcher at ITQB NOVA, coordinating projects and supervising students in the field of plant reproduction and development. Her eagerness to learn and share new ideas prompt her to a career move into science communication and led to the creation of ITQB's science communication office. Ana headed this office for ten years, leading both the institutional communication and the science outreach activities of ITQB in that period. In 2016, Ana left ITQB to serve a mandate as member of the executive board of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, the Portuguese science funding agency. She returned to ITQB NOVA in 2019 to coordinate the area of Advanced Education and in 2023 she became vice-dean.Ana is responsible for training Masters and PhD students in science communication. She co-directs the Masters in Science Communication at NOVA since 2011 and supervises students in their own communication projects and dissertations. She is also part of the team recently awarded the ERC Science Journalism Initiative Grant, a project she is passionate about, which aims to give journalists an immersive experience in research institutions.