I am a proficient, dynamic and creative person, with 15+ years of experience (10 as Director) in fostering research and innovation in health, life sciences and biotechnology through Academia-Industry-Governments collaboration.My main areas of expertise are life & health sciences, research infrastructures, health & care industries, clusters & networking, open innovation, competitive intelligence & business development, strategic planning & policy making, and strategic communication. My key strengths are leadership capacity, strategic thinking, ease of communication, proactivity, dynamism, creativity, versatility, dedication and persistence.After obtaining a PhD in life sciences, in 2006, I have worked for 13 years in conceiving, implementing and consolidating the Health Cluster Portugal (HCP), a private non-profit association bringing together 180+ R&D institutions, universities, hospitals, and pharma, biotech & medtech companies under the motto "From knowledge to market" and a mission to strengthen Portugal in the research, development, manufacturing and commercialisation of health-related products and services. I have decided to leave HCP at the end of 2019, since I felt we were no longer pursuing our mission as we should.In January 2020, I have been appointed by Portugal's Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) as Delegate to the ESFRI Health & Food Strategy Working Group. At the same time, I have started working as an independent consultant, having coordinated the domain of "Health, Biotechnology & Food" in a special project for Portugal's National Innovation Agency (ANI) leading to the country's Smart Specialisation Strategy.From October 2020 to July 2023, I assumed the role of Executive Director at the Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI), the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure for the preservation, study, provision and valorisation of microbial resources and biodiversity, bringing together ~50 microbial biobanks and research institutes from 10 European countries. MIRRI serves the bioscience and bioindustry communities by facilitating the access, through a single point, to a broad range of high-quality microorganisms, their derivatives, associated data and services, with a special focus on the domains of Health & Food, Agro-Food, and Environment & Energy.I was born in 1978. I am married and I have a daughter. I love music, plants and antiques. The main cause I support is zero tolerance for female genital mutilation. I took my personal motto from Saramago: "Let us not rush, but let us not waste time".