Ana Santos Almeida is a microbiologist and immunologist with extensive academic and industry experience, dedicated to advancing our understanding of host–microbiome interactions in chronic inflammation and cancer. Her research spans from uncovering the immunopathogenesis of rhinoscleroma during her PhD, to developing advanced imaging and flow cytometry tools for tumour immunology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and leading translational microbiome studies at APC Microbiome Ireland. She has authored 17 publications with over 4,500 citations. Currently, Ana is Principal Investigator of the Microbiome in Health and Disease Translational Laboratory at GIMM, where she leads the GIMM-CARE Colorectal Cancer Mission, supported by Horizon Europe Teaming for Excellence funding. Her team integrates multi-omics, AI, and citizen science approaches to identify microbiome-based biomarkers and therapeutic targets for early diagnosis and personalised interventions in colorectal cancer. In parallel, she leads AGEWISE (Biocodex Foundation), exploring the gut–hormone axis in women’s ageing, and contributes to several interdisciplinary initiatives, including BIOMICS (Horizon Europe Twinning), CiDx-ASPeCT (FCT), and Microbioma Comunidade Portugal (Oeiras Valley). Her career has been supported by competitive international funding (FCT, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Biocodex Microbiota Foundation) and has resulted in high-impact publications, patents, and invited talks. Ana is committed to advancing microbiome science with clinical and societal relevance, mentoring future researchers, and fostering innovation at the interface of immunology, microbiology, and translational medicine.