Cristiane graduated with a dental degree from UFMG, Brazil in 2000. She moved to Ireland in 2006 and joined UCC as a PhD student in 2008. As part of her PhD, she conducted a randomized controlled trial on the use of Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) in older patients. During this time, she worked as a Senior House Officer in Paediatric Dentistry and later in Restorative Dentistry. She also successfully undertook the MFD exams in the Royal College of Ireland. In 2016, Cristiane completed a Masters in Public Health, followed by a Certificate and Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. She was awarded a fellowship ad eundem by the RCSI in 2023 for the national and international impact of her scholarship and outstanding contribution to Dentistry. She has published extensively in well known dental journals and presented in numerous conferences around the world, being a key note speaker in several of them. Her research interest includes: ART, cariology, dental public health, quality of life outcomes, treatment of elderly patients, oral health and diet, economic analysis in healthcare. She has been a lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the Cork University Dental School and Hospital since 2015, teaching and examining undergraduate and postgraduate dental students, dental hygiene and dental nursing students. She is the editor of JIDA/ JIDA Science, the journal of the Irish Dental Association.

Cristiane's research interests include: the use of minimally invasive dentistry including ART, dental public health, cost-effectiveness of oral healthcare interventions, treatment options for the elderly patient, quality of life, dental education, and knowledge transfer.