Catarina Vasconcelos is currently pursuing a PhD in Sustainability Science at the University of Lisbon. Her doctoral research, titled "Reshaping Food Systems to Enable Sustainable Food Consumption: Multidimensional Analysis of Governance Strategies and Monitoring Frameworks in Portugal," focuses on how public policies can support the transition to sustainable food consumption in Portugal. Under the supervision of Professor Ana Carvalho (IST) and Professor Mónica Truninger (ICS), her work adopts a multidimensional approach, analyzing governance strategies and policy coherence, stakeholder dynamics, and the development of monitoring tools.
She holds a master’s degree in Food Policy from City, University of London, where she developed and applied an evaluation framework to assess food system strategies in five Portuguese cities. Her research highlighted public food procurement and multistakeholder platforms as key enablers, while gaps in data monitoring and horizontal coordination emerged as persistent barriers. She is a registered member of the Portuguese Nutritionists’ Order and actively participates in European food sustainability networks such as the Eating City Platform and Buy Better Food Campaign. In parallel with her academic work, Catarina is a project manager at Food4Sustainability CoLAB, where she coordinates the PRR National Network for Balanced and Sustainable Food (RNAES) and other initiatives focusing on public health, food literacy, and sustainable dietary practices. Her main research interests include food systems governance, multi-level policy integration, and evidence-based tools to accelerate the transition towards healthy and sustainable diets.