Joana Figueiredo graduated in Applied Biology in 2005 at University of Minho. During her training program at IPATIMUP, she became fascinated by cancer biology. Joana Figueiredo got her first research fellowship to study the effects of oncogene activation during carcinogenesis, and one year later, she started a new project addressing the dynamics of cell-cell adhesion in gastric cancer. Joana Figueiredo completed her PhD in 2012 at the Medical School of University of Porto, under the supervision of Professor Raquel Seruca. 

Currently, Joana Figueiredo is an Assistant Researcher at the Intercellular Communication and Cancer Group, investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying distinct clinical spectra of E-cadherin mutations. Her research focuses on the crosstalk between cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in pathological conditions. In particular, she is interested in how this crosstalk impacts cancer cell invasion. Joana Figueiredo has established an international collaborative network with clinicians and genetic counselors worldwide, aiming to define the significance of genetic variants and to establish accurate patient management protocols.