Agronomist, graduated from the current Federal Rural University of the Amazon, Master in Soil Science and Biometeorology from the Utah State University , USU, USA, Doctor in Plant Physiology from the Campinas State University, UNICAMP, with specialization in agroforestry systems from the International Agroforestry Center, ICRAF and post-doctorate in agroecology from the Institute of Sociology and Peasant Studies, ISEC, University of Córdoba,  UCO, Spain. She has been a researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa, since its foundation, as a member of the Embrapa Eastern Amazon team, focusing on agroclimatology, plant ecophysiology, agroforestry systems and agroecology.She has participated as a professor in graduate programs in Amazonian universities, with emphasis on the Master's and Doctorate courses in Amazonian Family Agriculture and Sustainable Development, MAFDS and DAFDS, of the Federal University of Pará, UFPA. She headed Embrapa Eastern Amazon between 2003 and 2005 and was executive director of Embrapa from 2005 to 2011.