Ana holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Lisbon and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM) in Lisbon, Portugal. Ana was awarded two FCT fellowships and has won the Portuguese Immunology Society Best Paper and Best Poster award in 2009 and 2010, as well as the CESPU International Research Award in 2010. After leaving the lab to pursue a career in science communication, she served as the director of science communication at iMM Lisbon.