Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (1999) from Universidade de Lisboa, with a MSc. (2001) and a PhD (2009) in Organic Chemistry both from Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, and after a few years as professor in Cell Biology and Pharmaceutical Toxicology (2004-2013, ULHT), Joana shifted her focus to Science Communication with a post-doctoral individual FCT grant in Promotion and Administration of Science and Technology (2012) in ITQB and FCSH, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and went on to practice, teach and research in that field. She has been focusing on storytelling and digital media for the promotion of science in the public sphere, with a strong emphasis on training scientists in science communication.