Carla Varanda graduated in Agricultural Engineering in University of Évora (UE), in 2003, obtained the Master's Degree in Plant Biology of Pests and Plant Diseases (UE) in 2005 and the PhD in Agricultural Sciences (UE) in 2011. C. Varanda is a researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED) and at the Global Change & Sustainability Institute (CHANGE), Associate Laboratory, in University of Évora. C. Varanda main research areas concern the study of viruses both as plant pathogens and as biotechnological tools. Other research lines include the study of plant diseases and the development of diagnostic techniques and biological control methods. During her career, C. Varanda has published 36 articles in indexed scientific journals, 14 of which as first author, 16 as corresponding author and 4 as senior author; in addition to other relevant scientific output including 2 edited books and 1 book chapter, several articles in 'Proceedings' and 8 articles in technical journals. C. Varanda's high research experience can also be demonstrated through the participation in 16 national and international projects. Her scientific independence and international recognition can also be seen through her role as Principal Investigator of two project grants in highly competitive calls from FCT (obtained in 2017 and 2018). C. Varanda professional commitment at her scientific area is also recognized by the academy through university teaching duties (in the UE and in the University Aberta), participation in 9 juries of academic degrees and project fellowships and supervision of students: 2 PhD students (1 concluded and 1 ongoing), 3 Post-docs (concluded), 7 Master's students (5 concluded and 2 ongoing), 2 Master's fellowships (concluded), 5 ungraduated students (3 concluded and 2 ongoing) and mentoring of several PhD, Master and ungraduated students. C. Varanda has also participated in the organization of national and international congresses and meetings, as well as in 'Ciência Viva' programs. She provides consultancy services to Municipalities, private sector and state agencies on optimization and execution of diagnostic tests for emerging phytopathogenic agents. C. Varanda ability to achieve original and high-quality performance has allowed her to develop 2 applications for European patents (EP20165419.1 and EP20165418.3), both based on the development of viral vectors, one to protect plants against Xylella fastidiosa and other against Colletotrichum spp. Her breadth of scientific record extends for the participation on evaluation of R&D projects grants (United States, Israel and Chile), as the Portuguese coordinator of the Cost action (COST FA1407) and as academic editor and reviewer of several papers in Q1 journals. C. Varanda internationalization can also be confirm through several scientific collaborations that resulted in published articles, internships, conference participations and financed research projects. During her career C. Varanda has received important recognition prizes, such as Innovative enterprise awards and competitive individual financing.