She has a Bachelor's Degree in Agronomic Engineering from the University of Brasília (1986), a Master's Degree in Phytopathology from the University of Brasília (1991), and a PhD in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States (2000). She has been a researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) since 1989. She develops works and projects in the field of classical genetics, molecular biology, and genomic analyses of vegetables with special emphasis on solanaceae, lettuce, and cucurbits. She works with molecular markers, transcriptomics, and characterization of phytopathogens (viruses, nematodes, fungi, and bacteria).