Brenda is a PhD candidate in Social Research Methods, supervised by Professor Flora Cornish and Dr. Chana Teeger. She is also a Research Assistant at the International Inequalities Institute (III).

Before joining the programme, she worked as a Research Assistant on an international collaboration project between the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and LSE, where she conducted research on health inequalities related to long COVID in Brazil. She holds a BSc in Psychology from the Federal University of Espírito Santo, a postgraduate degree in Mental Health from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, and an MPH from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.

Her research interests focus on qualitative research methods and integrated research epistemologies involving community participation. Drawing from the fields of Community Psychology and Public Health, her research is centered on how critical and interdisciplinary studies of the Social Determinants of Health can promote the participation of socioeconomically vulnerable communities in addressing social and health inequities. Her PhD project investigates the lived experiences and everyday activism of residents in urban squats in Brazil and how housing struggles intertwine with health-related concerns.