Liliana de Almeida Fonseca is a Research Associate at U. Strathclyde's EPRC, where she develops comparative research on European cohesion policy, regional development, innovation and sustainability. She is a former Fellow of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network under the research project RUNIN (Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development). Under this project, she has completed her PhD in the field of Public Policies at the University of Aveiro, in Portugal.

Her previous studies focused on political science, governance, urban and regional sustainability and grassroots initiatives, holding an MSc in Eco-Cities from Cardiff University's School of Geography and Planning, and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.