Sérgia Velho graduated in Biology by the University of Porto, Portugal, in 2003 and obtained a PhD degree in Human Biology from the same University in 2010. She started her scientific activities at IPATIMUP in 2002 where, first as a BSc and later as a PhD student, worked on the molecular classification of gastrointestinal cancers, namely on the identification of KRAS, BRAF, PI3K, MLK3 and RASSF1A alterations in microsatellite unstable and stable cancers, and on the characterization of the functional effects of KRAS, BRAF, MLK3 and MAPK signaling pathways in colorectal cancer (CRC). As a Post-Doctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Sérgia Velho studied the role of mutant NRAS and inflammation in colorectal cancer (CRC) using genetic engineered mouse models. Sérgia Velho is currently a Researcher at IPATIMUP/I3S under the FCT Investigator programme. Her research interests focus on understanding the role played by tumor-associated cellular stromal components in the different stages of colorectal carcinogenesis, and on understanding how cancer cell-specific genetic alterations impact on the modulation of the surrounding stroma. The ultimate goal is to identify molecular modulators of induction of a pro-tumorigenic stroma that can be further pursued as therapeutical targets.