Professor Carmem Leitão Araújo, from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), will be the next resident scientist at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Unicamp (IdEA). As part of the “Cesar Lattes” Resident Scientist Program, the researcher will develop an agenda of activities dedicated to the debate on democracy, social policies, and the strengthening of the Unified Health System (SUS), bringing together researchers, students, public managers, and health professionals.
The residency program, entitled “Democracy, social policies and strengthening the SUS (Brazilian Unified Health System)” , will focus on the interface between public health and political science, addressing topics such as governance, state capacities, implementation of public policies, social participation and territorial inequalities. In addition to the in-person activities planned for August and September, the program includes working meetings, academic production, and collaborative actions between the participating institutions.
Among the objectives of the residency program is the promotion of dialogue between universities, public health services, and research institutions, stimulating reflection on the contemporary challenges of Public Health and the strengthening of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). The preliminary program includes an opening lecture, meetings with researchers, managers, and health workers, workshops with students and residents, as well as debates on the regulation of the public health profession and the implementation of public policies in the territories.
By bringing together experts from different fields and institutions, the residency program reaffirms the commitment of the "Cesar Lattes" Resident Scientist Program to the circulation of knowledge and academic exchange. Throughout her stay at Unicamp, Carmem Leitão will contribute to broadening the debate on the challenges of Public Health and the role of the university in formulating answers to issues of public interest.
The full schedule will be published soon.
About the scientist
Carmem Leitão is an adjunct professor in the Department of Community Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of Ceará ( UFC ), where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Public Health. A psychologist by training, she holds a master's degree in Public Health from UFC and a doctorate in Political Science from the Federal University of Minas Gerais ( UFMG ), where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship.
Her career encompasses research, teaching, and work in public administration, focusing on the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of public health policies. She develops studies on Public Health and Political Science, dedicating herself to topics such as SUS (Brazilian Unified Health System) financing, federalism, governance, state capacities, primary health care, mental health, social participation, and equity. She also investigates how political decisions and institutional arrangements influence the organization of health services and the tackling of territorial inequalities.
At UFC, she coordinates the Internship in Public Health and the Center for Studies in Public Health (NESC), in addition to leading the Study and Research Group on Policy, Governance and Implementation in Health (POLIS-Saúde). She is the author of the books Political Decisions and Limited Changes in Health (Hucitec) and Process Tracing in the Social Sciences: Foundations and Applicability (Enap).
In addition to her academic work, she actively participates in the construction and strengthening of Public Health in Brazil. She is currently the vice-president of the Brazilian Association of Public Health (Abrasco) for the 2024–2027 term, and also chaired the 5th Brazilian Congress on Health Policy, Planning and Management, held in 2024.
About the “Cesar Lattes” Resident Scientist Program
The “Cesar Lattes” Resident Scientist Program brings together researchers with outstanding academic performance for residency periods at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IdEA) at Unicamp. The initiative promotes the exchange of knowledge through lectures, courses, seminars, meetings with research groups, and other activities aimed at the university community, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue and the production of reflections on strategic themes for science and society.
This article was originally published on the IdEA Unicamp website.
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