PhD in Sociology from ISCTE-IUL, in 2014, with a grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Paula Lopes is Associate Professor at the Autonomous University of Lisbon (UAL, since 1996), coordinator of the Degree in Sciences at Communication and Master in Applied Communication since 2017, integrated researcher at LabCom – Comunicação e Artes (Communication & Media Research Group) and collaborating researcher at the Center for Studies in Communication and Society of the University of Minho (Media and Journalism Research Group), associate researcher at OBSERVARE – Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa and researcher-coordinator of NIP-C@M (Research Center for Media Practices and Skills), at the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa.

She has been developing research in media and digital literacy (assessment of practices and skills), media and digital consumption, and their relationship with citizenship practices (in her doctoral thesis she explores this type of relationship and submits them to empirical evidence, questioning “if” and “how” media literacy impacts individuals' citizenship practices).

Paula Lopes is a member of ALFAMED (Inter-University Euro-American Research Network on Media Skills for Citizenship, which brings together more than 50 researchers from 13 countries in Europe and Latin America), ELO (Research Unit in Local Studies), FILM (Informal Forum on Media Literacy) and MILOBS (Observatory on Media, Information and Literacy).

She is the author of several scientific articles published in leading journals such as “Communications”, “OBS*”, “Social Analysis”, “Janus”, “Media e Jornalismo” and “Estudos em Comunicação”.

She was a journalist in newspapers, magazines and informative websites, trainer at CENJOR / Centro Protocolar de Formação para Jornalistas), advisor/communication/image consultant and cultural programmer.