Elsa D. Silva graduated in Bioengineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto in 2016. During her Master Degree, she had the opportunity to develop a magnetic responsive hydrogel to be applied as a carrier system for interfacial tissue engineering with external magnetic field-controlled properties. This work allowed her to gain expertise in 2-D and 3-D cell culture, tissue engineering and biomaterial characterization. At the same time, she was challenged to submit a grant proposal to perform research experiments under hypergravity conditions in the European Space Agency (ESA). This project allowed her to gain knowledge in project management, cell culture and tissue engineering. After completing her Master Degree, she was awarded a fellowship at the Stem Cells in Regenerative Biology and Repair group from i3S/INEB. After collaborating in different ongoing projects, ED Silva is now particularly focused in describing immune cell alterations in animal models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).