Dr Andrea Rodriguez currently is a Lecturer in Dental Public Health and Social Psychology at School of Dentistry, University of Dundee. Before becoming an academic, she had over 15 years of direct experience in community work in favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, mostly in the fields of human rights, popular education, youth, health and social inequalities. Andrea has 17 years of experience in inclusive approaches and community-based participatory research with marginalized and stigmatized groups. Currently, Andrea leads interdiciplinary health / oral health projects with priority groups in Scotland and Brazil using therorethical frameworks from Psychology, Art-education and Public Health in the field of inclusion oral health, co-production and co-design of educational resources, community development and policy design. 

Higher Education 

2007-2011: PhD in Social Psychology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

Research program: Psycho-social and Collective Processes. Human Rights, Youth and Professional Practices. Thesis: Labyrinths of drug trafficking: lives, practices and interventions. In search for ways out. UFRJ, 2011, 303p. 

1999-2001: Master’s in Psycho-sociology of Communities, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

Research program: Communities, Development, Environment and Social Inclusion. Dissertation: Analysis of the Life Course of Community Leaders: An Existential Approach. UFRJ / EICOS Program, 2001, 219p. 

1997-2000: Post-graduate in Theory and Professional Practice in the Existential Psychotherapy Approach (360 hours with 200 hours of practice.) 

Dissertation: Life trajectories of children in poverty. Rio de Janeiro, 2000, 46p.      

1992-1998: Degree in Psychology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

Monography: Domestic violence against children and adolescents. UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, 92p. 

Andrea’s teaching experiences combine research and practice to inform the training of students at UG and PG level, health and social care practitioners, and policymakers. She has experience with Master and PhD supervision of national and international students. 

Andrea has 18 years of experience delivering training for non-academic audiences on strategies to increase social participation of minority groups, to promote health and to tackle inequalities and stigmatized practices. 

Research Grants  

Project Title: ‘Do not give up on us' - a knowledge exchange training resource to promote health / oral health and to engage with people experiencing homelessness’.  

Sponsor: Wellcome Trust/Public Engagement Seed Fund.  

Grant Holders: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI), Prof Lorraine van Blerk (Co-I), Prof Chris Murray (Co-I).   

Period of the grant: 1/2/2021 to 30/3/2022  

Value of the Grant: £25,000  

Project Title: ‘Digital health, healthcare service design and marginalisation’  

Sponsor: Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) /Interdisciplinary Incubator Grant (IIG)  

Grant Holders: Dr Nicola Gray (PI), Prof Alison McFadden (Co/I); Albert Farre (Co/I); Prof Judith Sixsmith (Co-I); Dr Mei Fang (Co-I); Dr Elizabeth Hanna (Co-I); Dr Andrea Rodriguez (Co-I).   

Period of the grant: March 2021 to Dez 2021  

Value of the Grant: £4,986  

Project Title: ‘Oral Health and Public Engagement’.  

Sponsor: Stephen Fry Award  

Grant Holders: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI)  

Period of the grant: April 2021 to March 2022  

Value of the Grant: £1,500  

Project Title: ‘Making "Masculine" Pettah (Sri Lanka) More Inclusive: Familiarisation of Spaces by Women and Gender-nonconforming Persons to Reduce Inequalities and Promote Good Health and Wellbeing’.  

PhD Scholarship (Kaushalya Herath). Period 2019-2022.  

Sponsor: GCRF/SFC.  

Grant Holders: Prof Fiona Kumari Campbell (PI), Andrea Rodriguez (Co-I).    

Value of the Grant: £105,430   

Project title: Helping Young People Feel at Home in Scotland: Building Collaborative and Integrated Services for Youth Homeless through a Reflexive Mapping Approach for Health and Social Care Integration.  

Grant holder: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI), Ruth Freeman and Gerry Humphris (Co-I) Sponsor: Scottish University Insight Institute (SUII)  

Period of the grant: 20th March to 15th Nov 2019  

Value of grant: £17, 915.00  

Project title: “Mapping the aspects of oral health, health and psychosocial needs of homeless youth in Brazil: exploring experiences and policy learning for vulnerable youth affected by homelessness”.  

Grant holder: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI), Ruth Freeman (Co-I)  

Sponsor: Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF/SFC), UoD internal Mobility Award.  

Period of the grant (with dates): March to Nov/2019  

Value of grant: £7,315.00  

Project title: Health and Social Care of People Experiencing Homelessness, dialogues between Brazil and Scotland.  

Grant holder: Dr Nilza Rogeria Nunes (PI) and Andrea Rodriguez (Co-I)  

Sponsor: PUC-Rio University, Brazil (Edital IEAHu )  

Period: June to Nov/2019.  

Value of Grant: R$10,000 (Real), approximated £3.000  

Project title: A Comparative Critical Policy Analysis on the Right to Health – ‘National Health Systems from a Comparative Perspective: studies of local, regional and participatory management’  

Grant holders: Dr Fernando Fernandes (PI), Dr Ann Swinney (co-I), Andrea Rodriguez (Co-I) and Prof Ruth Freeman (Co-I)  

Sponsor: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/FIOTEC  

Period of the Grant: Sep 2017 to Dec 2019  

Value of the grant: £19,113   

PhD Project title: "Labyrinths of drug trafficking: lives, practices and interventions".  

Grant holder: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI)  

Sponsor: CAPES, Brazil  

Period of the grant: March 2007 to Feb 2011  

Value of the grant: £50.000