Bárbara has a bachelor in Biology and a master degree in molecular and cellular biology both by the university of Aveiro. During her master thesis she analyzed how a deficiency in plasmalogens affects myelination in the central nervous system. Now working on her PhD project focused in the understanding of the neuropathophysiology in a rare disease (Rhizomelic Rhondrodyplasia Punctata) that leads to a deficiency in plasmalogens. In 2024 she started working in the Laboratory Animal Science group with the objective of investigating mechanisms behind the increase in neonatal pup mortality and how breeding management and environmental factors might affects pup survival. Now she started a new project in the same group in collaboration with other institutions to help improve and optimize the use of animal hair to detect stress markers.