Heloísa Garcia Claro Fernandes

I hold a nursing degree (2008) and a teaching license in Nursing (2010) from the University of São Paulo. I earned a Masters degree (2010) and a Ph.D. (2015) in Sciences from the Graduate Program in Nursing at the same institution. During my doctoral studies, I completed an international research internship as a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Lighthouse Institute, Chestnut Health Systems (2012). I later completed two postdoctoral fellowships: one in Sciences (2017) at the USP School of Nursing and another in Epidemiology (2020) at the USP School of Medicine.I am currently a Tenured Assistant Professor (MS3) at the School of Nursing at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), where I also serve as a Faculty Advisor at the Executive Office for International Relations (DERI), contributing to the coordination of international mobility and academic cooperation policies.My areas of interest include Epidemiology, Mental Health, Primary Care Mental Health, Motivational Interviewing, Alcohol and Other Drugs, Depression, mHealth, Health Technologies, and Clinical Research. Since 2015, I have been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), where I serve on the Professional Development Committee. I am also a member of the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) and served as president of its Brazilian chapter from 2018 to 2022.I lead the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Epidemiological Studies in Mental Health, Alcohol, and Other Drugs (NIESMAD) alongside Professor Gabriella Andrade Boska and co-lead the Research Group on Alcohol and Other Drugs with Professor Márcia Aparecida Ferreira de Oliveira. I am also part of the Latin America Treatment and Innovation Network in Mental Health (LATIN-MH), based at USPs Department of Preventive Medicine, and a researcher at the Support Center for Research in Population Mental Health.I am co-investigator of the project Cuidado com Objetivo Mútuo (COM), coordinated by Professor Eduardo Sodré, which aims to promote mental health among Black university students in the health sciences. This mixed-methods research adopts an intersectional approach to explore how social markers such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status impact mental health. It evaluates a peer-support strategy in the university setting.In addition to my academic work, I serve as president of TEIA. This social project supports families affected by social inequality in the Ipiranga and Vila Monumento neighborhoods of São Paulo through community-based care and empowerment initiatives.I have taken maternity leave during the following periods: from August 27, 2016, to February 27, 2017; from January 2, 2019, to July 2, 2019; and from March 27, 2022, to September 22, 2022. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)