Maria Alexandra Brito is Associate Professor with Tenure at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, and Group Leader of the Neurovascular Laboratory at imed. Her major research interests are the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and neurovascular alterations in brain pathologies, including brain tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. She has studied microvascular dysfunction as determinant of disease pathogenesis and progression, and the BBB as a source of peripheral biomarkers, a target for modulation, and an obstacle to transpose to achieve therapeutic concentrations in the brain. Her work has involved biological assays relying on the use of BBB-based in vitro models of increasing complexity, animal models and patients-derived samples. She has also extensively studied BBB properties to ascertain the efficacy of drug candidates and natural compounds to modulate or cross the BBB and exert the intended neuroprotective or therapeutic action. Moreover, the has allied biological assays to bioinformatics tools to discover novel players in disease pathogenesis and unravel therapeutic targets. Currently, she is involved in the development of novel therapeutic strategies to prevent or treat breast cancer brain metastases by targeting the BBB. Maria Alexandra Brito’s work has been presented in reputed scientific meetings and published in high impact journals, and has been awarded several grants and prizes.