I was trained as a biochemist (FCUL), and I wrote my Ph.D. thesis (UNL) on the elucidation of the metabolism of primary cultures of brain cells (astrocytes and neurons). I had two postdoctoral positions (UNL and GaTech) studying the metabolism of trehalose in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the metabolic response to acid stress in Lactococcus lactis. Most of the metabolic studies were done by NMR with direct or indirect detection of 1H, 2H, 7Li, 13C, 15N, 19F, 23Na and 31P. Studies were performed either in vivo (with cells perfused through or immobilized in the NMR tube) or in vitro (isotopomeric analysis or metabolic flux analysis). During these postdoctoral positions I changed the focus of my research from the wet-lab to the computational side to which I now devote all of my research time. As a research scientist (GaTech), I was involved in a large consortium for the study of the host-pathogen interactions between different species of malaria (Plasmodium coatneyi, P. cynomolgi and P. knowlesi) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) using multi-omics techniques and developed mathematical models for the characterization of the growth and removal of the malarial parasite in the blood stream of rhesus macaques. My main interest is on the fundamental elucidation of cellular metabolism and physiology, which I undertake with computational models using both continuous and discrete frameworks with mechanistic and canonical formulations. I have also been involved in teaching Computational Systems Biology to undergraduates in biomedical engineering.