Mariana joined NLC in February 2023 as a Biotech Venture Developer intern. She read Natural Sciences at the University of Bath with a major in pharmacology and minor in cell biology. After a year exchange at the Maastricht Science Programme she decided move to the Netherlands to continue her education with an MSc in Biomedical Sciences - Psychopharmacology and Pathobiology. Her experience spans internships at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, The Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience and the Molecular Pharmacology lab at the Vrije Universiteit. Here, she has worked on topics ranging from behavioural and molecular psychopharmacology to public health, always keeping a goal-orientated and inquisitive approach to science and its impact on society.