Sociologist, graduate and master in Sociology (1992 and 1997, FLUP), doctor in Social Sciences at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (2007, ICS-UL) and Associate Professor at the Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon ( ISCSP-UL). She is a researcher at the Center for Research and Sociology Studies of the Lisbon University Institute (CIES-Iscte) since 2008, where she has carried out research in the areas of two studies on Ciganos/Roma, immigration, diversity and urban space, poverty and social exclusion, local development and social housing policies. She is also a collaborating member of the Center for Research in Architecture, Urbanism and Design (CIAUD) of FAUL, the Institute of Sociology of the Faculdade de Letras do Porto (ISFLUP) and Center for Administration and Public Policy (CAPP of ISCSP-ULisboa).