Research - Our Team

Melisane Ferreira is a public health and social epidemiology researcher in the IMPACThealth group at ISGlobal, with expertise at the intersection of social epidemiology, tuberculosis, social protection, and public policy evaluation. She is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow leading the SIMPACT-TB project, which develops an equity-focused microsimulation framework combining large-scale linked datasets and advanced mathematical modelling to estimate and forecast the impact of social protection policies on tuberculosis outcomes and health inequalities in Brazil and other low- and middle-income countries.

Before joining ISGlobal, Melisane was an associate postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Collective Health, Federal University of Bahia. She previously worked as a Technical Consultant for the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization within Brazil’s National Tuberculosis Programme, contributing to the planning, monitoring, and development of intersectoral strategies linking health and social protection.

She holds a PhD in Sciences (Public Health Nursing) from the University of São Paulo, including a doctoral research internship at NOVA University Lisbon. She also holds a specialization in Public Health from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), and a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the Federal University of Rondônia.

Lines of research

• Health impact assessment and evaluation
• Social protection and poverty-reduction policies
• Tuberculosis and other poverty-related diseases
• Social determinants of health and health inequalities 
• Global health and health equity

Main publications

• Ferreira MRL, Bonfim RO, Bossonario PA, Maurin VP, Valença ABM, Abreu PD, Andrade RLP, Fronteira I, Monroe AA. Social protection as a right of people affected by tuberculosis: a scoping review and conceptual framework. Infect Dis Poverty. 2023 Nov 22;12(1):103. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-023-01157-1
• Ferreira MRL, de Abreu PD, Maurin VP, Andrade-Gonçalves RLP, Arakawa T, de Almeida Ballestero JG, Arcêncio RA, Fronteira I, Monroe AA. Evaluation of social protection for people affected by tuberculosis: development of an indicator matrix for Brazil. BMC Public Health. 2025 Nov 25;25(1):4127. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24689-7
• Ferreira MRL, Gil JDC, de Paula Andrade RL, de Almeida Soares D, Monroe AA,
• Fronteira I. Effect of specific and sensitive interventions for the social protection of people affected by tuberculosis: a meta-analysis. Arch Public Health. 2025 Oct 13;83(1):244. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-025-01659-4
• Ferreira MRL, Ballestero JG de A, Andrade RL de P, Arakawa T, Fronteira I, Monroe AA. Public social protection policies for people affected by tuberculosis: a documentary analysis. Rev Latino-Am Enfermagem. 2025;33:e4503. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.7526.4503