She obtained her PhD degree in integrated optics at the University of Glasgow in 2003. After a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto, she became a scientific staff member at INO (Institute National d’Optique) in Québec City, Canada. In 2010, she joined the University of Twente as a Tenure Track assistant professor. Since 2013, she leads the Integrated Optical Systems subgroup, the research interest of which deals with the development of novel integrated photonic devices, including waveguide amplifiers and lasers integrated on passive technology platforms and integrated optical sensors. She is a member of the JA@UT and board member of the FFNT. In 2014, she received an ERC Consolidator grant to investigate novel sources in rare-earth ion doped crystalline materials. Sonia and her husband Fraser live in Enschede with their two children, Marco (almost 4) and Elena (almost 2).