Alda Pereira is a PhD student in Materials Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa (IST-UL) and her research focuses on developing sustainable, bio-derived polyester adhesives for formaldehyde-free wood composites. She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Materials Engineering from IST-UL. During her master's she investigated bio-based polyester blends of poly(propylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PPF) for sustainable food packaging applications. Following her studies, she joined the NEWPACK project under Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), within the VIIAFOOD agenda, as research intern and subsequently as a research fellow. Her work has expanded her expertise in polymer processing and polyester synthesis.