My background combines public health and nutritional sciences, which are crucial to the successful development of this research project. I have a bachelor degree in Nutritional Sciences obtained from the Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences of the University of Porto, a masters degree in Public Health from the University of Porto Medical School, with the thesis entitled "Vitamin D and metabolic syndrome among Portuguese adolescents: the EPITeen project". Now, I am a PhD candidate of a doctoral programme in Global Public Health based on the wide ranging teaching and research experience of four Portuguese Schools: the Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Nova Medical School and the National School of Public Health. The theoretical training distributed by the different schools, allowed me to contact with different views of Epidemiology and Public Health, as well as to acquire knowledge in diverse areas, since each school has a different approach to Public Health, allowing me to explore the different working methodologies. Since obesity is a multifactorial disease, a transdisciplinary approach is key for its understanding, as well as for the design of public health interventions. My previous experience as a research fellow allowed me to enhance my research skills in public health, developing my understanding of police and practice and giving me the tools to make original contributions to knowledge development. My experience in a hospital setting, in the nutrition department of the University Hospital of Coimbra, and in a foreign research centre, in the Nutritional Epidemiology department of the Faculty of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, provided me with a broad perspective of nutrition and public health. Additionally, prior to the PhD I have worked as a research fellow in the Angola Health Research Centre, a partnership between the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Angolan Government. Finally, I have worked as a research fellow in the Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto together with the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Porto Medical School, in which I had the opportunity to work in several stages of research, from fieldwork to data analysis, namely in the EPITeen cohort, in which I will base my investigation. |
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