Susana da Cruz Martins, PhD in Sociology. She is an associate professor at Iscte - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and a researcher at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES) in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy. She is co-coordinator of the Education and Science Research Group at CIES-Iscte.

She is a member of the Inequalities Observatory and Director of the Master's Degree in School Administration (at ESPP, Iscte). She was awarded a post-doctoral scholarship by the Foundation for Science and Technology and a Gulbenkian Professorship by the F. C. Gulbenkian. She has participated in and coordinated national and international research projects. Of particular note is the national coordination (in Portugal) of the European project EUROSTUDENT - Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life In Europe (II, III, VI, and VII) and the Portuguese external evaluation of the Global Schools2030 Programme (in Portugal), implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation.

She is the author of several national and international publications, mainly in the areas of education and higher education policies, comparative education systems, school performance and success, evaluation of public policies and social inequalities.