She was awarded a PhD in Botany by USP for her work on the molecular phylogeny of Bangiales. Her main expertise is in molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of algae, and in the genomics of algae and bacteria, focusing mainly on red algae. She is interested in the origin, evolution and diversity of Rhodophyta. Presently, she integrates the coordination committee of the Biota-FAPESP program and is the head of the Botany Department at USP.