Cristina Possas de Albuquerque (born 5 June 1948) is a Brazilian

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

scientist working with

infectious diseases infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

and

emerging infectious disease An emerging infectious disease (EID) refer to infectious diseases that have either newly appeared in a population or have existed but are rapidly increasing in incidence, geographic range, or severity due to factors such as environmental change ...

s from an eco-social perspective. She is a Takemi Fellow at Harvard University in Boston, where for 10 years she has been a visiting scientist and a

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

. She has been since 1976 a professor at

FIOCRUZ The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Portuguese language, Portuguese ''Fundação Oswaldo Cruz'', also known as FIOCRUZ) is a scientific institution for research and development in biological sciences located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; it is considered ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil.

Education and employment

After her undergraduate studies, Possas completed a PhD in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (; PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and the So ...

(PUC-RIO) in 1972. After completing her MSocSc at the

State University of Campinas The University of Campinas (), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. Established in 1962, Unicamp was designed from scratch as an integrated Research institute, researc ...

(UNICAMP) in 1980 Possas was appointed to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation ( Portuguese Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, also known as

) in

, Brazil as a full professor in 1985 where she has worked ever since, completing a

PhD at the National School of Public Health in 1988. Whilst working at FIOCRUZ she has also spent time as a

and Takemi Fellow in International Health at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

from 1990 to 1994 before becoming a visiting scientist with the New Diseases Group at

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

from 1994 to 2002. Possas also served as National Executive Secretary, National Technical Biosafety Commission (CTNBio), Ministry of Science and Technology, Brazil from 2001 to 2002 and Head, Research and Technological Development Unit, National AIDS Program, Ministry of Health, Brazil, 2002–2011. She has given radio and television interviews on

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after i ...

, and

Zika fever Zika fever, also known as Zika virus disease or simply Zika, is an infectious disease caused by the Zika virus. Most cases have no symptoms, but when present they are usually mild and can resemble dengue fever. Symptoms may include fever, conju ...

Awards and distinctions

* 1983. FINEP research grant on Health System Evaluation, coordinating 7 subprojects, Medical School, PUC-Campinas, SP * 1989. FINEP ( Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos) grant, Coordinator National Multicentric Project Evaluation Health Systems, FIOCRUZ, RJ * 1991. Capes Fellowship,CNPq profile for Cristina de Albuquerque Possas
/ref> Harvard University * 1992. Takemi Fellow, Harvard University.Takemi Program

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

* 1993. CNPq Scientific Productivity Fellowship

Selected publications

* * * * * Possas, C. 1989. Epidemiologia e Sociedade: Heterogeneidade Estrutural e Saúde no Brasil [Epidemiology and Society: Structural Heterogeneity and Health in Brazil. Hucitec, São Paulo. * Possas, C. 1980. Saúde e Trabalho: a Crise da Previdência Social [Health and Labour: the crisis of Social Welfare in Brazil], [2nd edition in 1989]. Hucitec. [Winner award of honors from the Brazilian Society of Social Welfare Rights in 1981 for the best book on Social Welfare]. * *

References

External links

Entrevista, Dr. Cristina Possas discusses AIDS, Dec 16, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Possas, Cristina HIV/AIDS researchers Brazilian women scientists 20th-century Brazilian women scientists Living people Women naturalists Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health people South America articles needing expert attention 20th-century Brazilian educators 21st-century Brazilian educators Brazilian feminists Brazilian epidemiologists 1948 births Scientists from Rio de Janeiro (city) Women epidemiologists 20th-century Brazilian women educators 21st-century Brazilian women educators