I graduated in Interactive Design (University of Madeira) and have a Master in Entertainment Technologies (Carnegie Mellon University). In 2021, I completed the PhD in Digital Media at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT – UNL), where I developed a platform that uses elements such as music and reminiscence for cognitive stimulation called Musiquence.  I’m currently a professor at the University of Madeira, where I actively collaborate on research projects at the NeuroRehabLab and NovaLincs. My role consists, above all, in developing serious games and studying their impact on clinical populations (e.g., Neurological and Psychiatric).

I am currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics Engineering and Interactive Media Design at the University of Madeira, researcher and coordinator of NeuroRehabLab - N-LINCS Madeira, and president of the International Society for Virtual Rehabilitation (ISVR). I am a telecommunications engineer from the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC) and a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ).

I have been a researcher at several institutes in Europe and the USA, including the Laboratoire de Production Microtechnique at EPFL (Lausanne), the Institute of Neuroinformatics at ETHZ (Zurich), at the Institute for Audiovisual Studies of the Department of Technology at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona), and visiting researcher at the Quality of Life Technologies and Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh).

At NeuroRehabLab (https://neurorehabilitation.m-iti.org) I carry out research at the intersection of technology, neuroscience and clinical practice to find new solutions to improve the quality of life of people with special needs.

My research focuses on the analysis of sound structure. I develop methods to model, classify and synthesize the sound structure of natural and musical sounds. The goal of this research is to identify the intrinsic acoustic dimensions that govern the structure of these sounds. I am interested in identifying which of these dimensions are relevant to the auditory perception of the sounds. The identification of such dimensions provides information about the features that must be preserved in audio compression, as well as about the features that must be manipulated in audio synthesis.

In addition, we use these methods to develop software applications for health and education. These include tools and educational games for the blind and for speech therapy.

Currently, I work as a Clinical Psychologist at Casa de Saúde Câmara Pestana (https://cscp.irmashospitaleiras.pt/) and I am attending the PhD in Neuropsychology at the University of Coimbra, where I had the opportunity to complete the Integrated Master in Clinical and Health Psychology - Subarea of specialization in Clinical Psychogerontology. In terms of research, I dedicate myself to the study of Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation, being associated with NeuroRehabLab (https://neurorehabilitation.m-iti.org/) and the research groups “Neuropsychological Assessment in Aging Processes” (NAAP) and “Psychological Assessment and Psychometrics Laboratory” (PsyAssessmentLab). I am a trainer in the field of Clinical Neuropsychology at ForYourMind (https://www.foryourmindform.com/).