Nunes studied physics engineering at the
Instituto Superior Técnico from 1987 to 1992. She continued her studies at the
University of Surrey in England, where she completed a Ph.D. in 1995. After postdoctoral research at the Instituto Superior Técnico, she taught at
Fernando Pessoa University in Portugal from 1998 to 2003. In 1999, she added a second affiliation as assistant professor of physics at the Instituto Superior Técnico. She moved to Michigan State University in 2003 as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). She was promoted to associate professor in 2009, and full professor in 2013. From 2010 to 2016 headed the NCSL Department of Theoretical Nuclear Science. ==Recognition==