Maria Teresa Cruz (MT Cruz) holds a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (1991) from the University of Lisbon, a master's in Drug Technologies (1996), and a PhD in Pharmacology (2004) at UC. She is an associate professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and a Group Leader at the Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (Immunometabolism and Stress Responses). She was Included in the "World's Top 2% Scientists" concerning the most cited researchers in 2022 and regularly reviews R&D projects for various institutions, including the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, the French National Research Agency, Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship Program, ERA4Health, External Expert for COST proposals evaluation, among others.