Joana Pereira-Marques is a Biologist with a PhD in Biotechnology Applied to Health Sciences (Univ. Porto) and over 10 years of research experience in microbiome and cancer. She has been working as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Microbes & Cancer group at i3S, where she has studied the microbiome in the context of gastrointestinal cancers using multi-omics approaches and bioinformatics tools to analyze large-scale NGS datasets (16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics). Joana has contributed to several nationally and internationally-funded projects, including two major international consortia in the gastric cancer field (LEGACy - H2020 and AIDA - Horizon Europe), in which her expertise in microbiome data analysis using omics technologies was highly valued.

Overall, Joana has 12 publications in international peer-reviewed journals with >950 citations (10 articles, 2 book chapters), and 10 published conference abstracts. Moreover, her work has been presented in 42 oral/poster communications in international and national meetings, receiving 2 Best Presentation Awards and the PFIZER Award in Clinical Research. Joana has also contributed to 9 competitive research projects successfully funded by national (FCT) and international agencies (European Commission and Worldwide Cancer Research). Alongside her research, she co-supervised/mentored PhD, MSc, and BSc students, served as a peer reviewer for leading journals in the field, and actively participated in scientific outreach initiatives and events organization. She continues to develop her scientific and transferable skills through specialized courses and workshops, demonstrating her commitment to professional growth and academic contribution.