Associate professor at Vytautas Magnus University, board member of IBBY Lithuania
Researches children’s literature for over 20 years, teaches ‘Contemporary children’s literature’ course to students at Vytautas Magnus University Lithuanian Philology and Publishing program. In 2001 Gustaitienė received PhD degree from Vytautas Magnus University, her thesis was ‘Ideological, Aesthetic and Plot Connections of the Lithuanian Minor Prose Genres with Corresponding Works of H. C. Andersen (The End of the 19th Century and the First Half of the 20th Century)’ and in 2009 she published a monograph showing how Andersen’s personality and work reflects in Lithuania: ‘Hans Christian Andersen: efforts to (re)cognize’. In 2012 for this monograph she has recieved Children’s literature award from Ministry of Education and Science of Lithuania
Currently her children’s literature research is concentrated in the field of contemporary Lithuanian and Scandinavian literature. She gave lectures on contemporary children’s literature issues at various academic conferences in Lithuania, Denmark, Norway, Poland, UK, Latvia, and Mexico.