I am an Assistant Professor at the Physics Department of NOVA School of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT, Portugal).
My research lies at the interface of radiation physics, medical image computing, and biomedical engineering, with the overarching goal of improving radiotherapy delivery and advancing our understanding of radiation-induced side effects, particularly in children and young people (CYP). My work spans multiple radiation modalities (photon and proton therapy), cancer patient populations (lung, head and neck, and paediatric cancers), imaging techniques (computed tomography, cone-beam CT, and magnetic resonance imaging), and clinical data (medical imaging, pulmonary function tests, and toxicity scores). I employ a broad range of computational methods, including image registration, segmentation, Monte Carlo simulations, and deep learning, alongside experimental techniques such as 3D printing and dosimetry.
I hold a BSc in Physics from the University of Minho (Portugal) and an MSc in Medical Physics from the University of Porto (Portugal). I completed my PhD at University College London (UCL, United Kingdom) in 2016, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), focusing on adaptive radiotherapy. During my doctoral studies, I spent six months at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), developing adaptive workflows for the world's first proton therapy cone-beam CT system at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center. Following my PhD, I joined UCL's Centre for Medical Image Computing (now the Hawkes Institute) as a postdoctoral researcher, developing methods to quantify radiation-induced lung damage. In 2018, I was awarded a prestigious five-year Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship, a tenure-track post that allowed me to establish the Paediatric Radiotherapy and Imaging (PRIma) group at UCL. In 2024, I secured tenure and transitioned from a research-focused position as Principal Research Fellow to a balanced academic role as Associate Professor. Following a 12-month period of parental leave in 2024–2025, I returned to work part-time (50%) due to caring responsibilities, before subsequently taking up my current appointment at NOVA FCT.
My research track record includes over 40 peer-reviewed publications, including 17 as first or senior author, with more than 3400 citations and an h-index of 25 (Scopus). My work has appeared in leading journals across medical physics, radiation oncology, and biomedical engineering. In recognition of my research contributions, I received the 2020 Academic Early Career Award from the UK's Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM). I am also a member of the Tracking Cancer Evolution through Therapy (TRACERx) Consortium, a major translational research programme in lung cancer. I have secured approximately £1.1 million in research funding through competitive external grants and fellowships, including support from the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, alongside internally funded projects supported by UCL, EPSRC, and Cancer Research UK.
My teaching and supervision experience includes over 30 undergraduate and postgraduate research projects and the successful supervision of four PhD students to completion. At UCL, I served as module leader for the Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering MSc/MRes Research Projects, led the MRes module "Critical Review of Key Papers in Biomedical Imaging", and contributed guest lectures to the MSc module "Computer Assisted Surgery and Radiotherapy". At NOVA FCT, I teach Biomedical Engineering students (Bachelor) the modules "Biothermodynamics: and "Medical Imaging Methods".
Beyond research and teaching, I am committed to public engagement, patient involvement, and scientific outreach. I was a finalist for the 2024 Made with Patients Champion Award and received the 2025 IPEM Spiers Prize for Outreach in recognition of my advocacy for patient and public engagement and involvement, particularly my work connecting researchers with people who have lived experience of radiotherapy.