Personal Presentation

Full Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Head of the Department of Public Health and Forensic Sciences, and Medical Education, Coordinator of the PhD programme in Public Health, University of Porto Medical School (FMUP); Member of the Scientific Committee of the Master in Nutrition and Public Health (FCNAUP, FMUP, ICBAS); Graduation in Nutrition Sciences (FCNAUP-U.Porto).

Currently, she is a member of the Scientific Council of FMUP and the General Council of the University of Porto. He was a member of the Pedagogical Council of this Faculty from 2010 to 2022, serving as Vice-President from 2010 to 2018. He was a member of the Senate of the University of Porto (2015-2018) and a member of the Advisory Council of the Educational Model of the University of Porto (2012-2018).

Researcher at the Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIUnit) and an integrated member of the Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Institute of Public Health-University of Porto. She coordinates the research line “Life course research and healthy ageing” and the research group on “Nutrition and cardiometabolic health”.

Member of Executive Committee of ASPHER- Association of Schools of Public Health (2021-2023); President of the General Council of Nutritionists in Portugal (2016-2019), and is currently President of the Specialty Council in Community Nutrition and Public Health; Member of the European network “Food Consumption databases” (FCD-EFSA); Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European network programme on DEterminants of DIetary and Physical Activity-DEDIPAC KH (2014-2016); Member of the International Epidemiological Association; Member of the Scientific Committee of “Platform against Obesity” – DGS-Ministry of Health (2009-2012). Coordinator of Nutrition in Cardiology Group of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology (2007-2011); She was Consultant member of the Forensic Medicine Institute - University of Porto Medical School (2006-2011).

She was part of the team for 40 national and international scientific projects (13 as PI or Co-PI), including some funded by the European Union (HECTOR, HABEAT, STOP, CONNECTION-ERA4Health) and the European Food Safety Authority (EU Menu, RiskBenefit4EU, DOSE, ERA Menu EU). She was the Coordinator of the National Survey on Food and Physical Activity (IAN-AF 2015-2016) and of the implementation of the EU-menu project in Portugal (European Food Safety Authority - EFSA).

Her research interests are carrying on with the evaluation of relationship between dietary/lifestyle exposures and cardiovascular diseases including coronary heart disease, hypertension and obesity. She also is interested in the assessment of dietary intake, dietary patterns and its determinants, namely how early life determinants influence later food patterns and cardio metabolic outcomes.