Joana Dias de Sousa is a Project Development Officer in the Department of the Built Environment at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). She supports researchers in identifying funding opportunities, developing competitive proposals, and building collaborations within and beyond academia. Her work focuses on helping researchers translate ideas into projects and strengthening connections between research, industry, government, and societal partners.

Before moving into research support and project development, Joana worked as a researcher in biochemistry and microbiology. Her research focused on metabolomics and the analysis of cellular metabolism using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and chromatographic techniques. During her PhD, she investigated metabolic regulation in Bacillus subtilis, with particular attention to central carbon metabolism and cell wall synthesis.

Joana obtained a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and a Master's degree in Human Biology and Environment from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. She subsequently worked as a researcher in photochemistry at NOVA School of Science and Technology and as a policy officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra, Italy. 

In 2019, she completed her PhD in Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Greifswald, Germany, as a Marie Curie ITN Fellow. Following her PhD, she worked as an innovation consultant, supporting the preparation and development of European and national research and innovation projects. Since 2021, she has been part of the Department of the Built Environment at TU/e as Project Development Officer.