Isabel Ferreira was born in Nampula, Mozambique in 1974.
She has an undergraduate and master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Porto (1996 and 1999, respectively). She has a PhD (2003) with a Science add-on from the University of Minho. She is Main Teacher Coordinator of the Bragança Polytechnic Institute, of which she was Vice-Chair, Head of the Mountain Research Centre and Mentor of the MORE and AQUAvalor Collaborative Labs.
She coordinated the Natural and Environmental Sciences Scientific Board at the Science and Technology Foundation and was on the Advisory Board of the Science– Flanders Foundation (FWO- Belgium). She was also Editor in Chief of Antioxidants, Associate Editor at Food & Function and the Bioactive Compounds collection of the Molecules review. She was on the editorial body of Food and Chemical Toxicology, Industrial Crops and Products and Advances in Food and Nutrition Research. She was on the expert committee to monitor the H2020 and Horizon Europe European Framework Programmes.
She is one of the most cited researchers in the world (top 1%) and has been distinguished in the Essential Science Indicators for the last 8 years, one of the most prestigious quality in research indicators.
Her published work includes 4 international books, 60 book chapters, more than 800 scientific papers and several national and European patents, most from technology transfer for industry. Some of them are at the Foundation of spin-offs.
She has received such accolades as the Gulbenkian Prize for Encouraging Scientific Research in 2001, the Food I&DT prize in 2011, acknowledgement for disclosing Portuguese science in the world and the National Agency, Programme for Life for coordinating the ERASMUS Intensive Programme "Chemistry of Natural Products" in 2013, being distinguished by COTNH in the segment of international cooperation in 2014; In 2016, she was mentioned in Ciência Viva- National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture and in the book Women in Science; In 2017 she was awarded a medal for merit by Bragança municipality; from 2018 to 2020 she was awarded the transborder prize under the IACOBUS programme and in 2019 she received the European Social Innovation Prize from the European Commission.
From her scientific activity we also highlight the coordination of several national and international research projects and tutoring postdoctoral, doctoral and master’s students.
She was Secretary of State for the Development of Inland Regions in Prime Minister António Costa’s second Government.