
Contact
Biography
Dr Andrea Rodriguez is currently a Lecturer in Dental Public Health and Social Psychology at the 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 interdisciplinary 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.
Research
Research Grants
Project title: ‘REALITIES in Health Disparities: Researching Evidence-Based Alternatives in Living, Imaginative, Traumatised, Integrated, Embodied Systems’, a consortium led by University of Edinburgh. Feb 2024 to Feb 2027.
Sponsor: UKRI fund
Grant Holders: Dr Mariza de Andrade (PI), Dr Chris Lim (Co-I), Dr Suzanne Grant (Co-I), Dr Andrea Rodriguez (Co-I), Dr Kim Kimberly (Co-I)
Period of the grant: Feb 2024 to Feb 2027
Value of the Grant: £2,5 M
Project title: Mapping the aspects of oral health, health and social needs of people experiencing homelessness in Brazil.
Sponsor: International Science Partnership Fund/SFC
Grant Holders: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI), Dr Nilza Rogeria Nunes (Co-I)
Period of the grant: March 2024 to March 2025
Value of the Grant: £13,886
Project title: Experiences of oral health stigma - EXIST study led by University of Liverpool
Sponsor: Academic of Medical Sciences Fund
Grant Holders: Dr Janine Yazdi-Doughty (PI), Dr Andrea Rodriguez (Collaborator), Dr Alissa Levine (Collaborator), Dr Chrstopher Bedos (Collaborator), Dr Martha Paisi (Collaborator), Dr Vanessa Muirhead (Collaborator)
Period of the grant: June 2024 to April 2026
Value of the Grant: £24,900
Project title: My Story, My Words, My Mouth.
Sponsor: Centre for Public Engagement Queen Mary University of London
Grant Holders: dr Joelle Booth (PI), Dr Vanessa Muirhead (Co-I), Dr Andrea Rodriguez (Co-I)
Period of the grant: Jan to Dec 2024
Value of the Grant: £ 10K
Project title: Participatory methodologies for the promotion of equity in health for young people: Dialogues between Brazil and Scotland
Sponsor: CAPES Internationalization Teaching Scholarship, Oswaldo Cruz Public Health Foundation, Brazil
Grant Holders: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI)
Period of the grant: March 2023
Value of the Grant: £ 5,000
Project title: Bringing Dundee Together: Public Engagement Hub.
Sponsor: Innovation, and Impact Development Fund (IIDF)
Grant Holders: Dr Andrea Rodriguez (PI), Dr Siyang Yuan (Co-I), Dr Fernando Fernandes (Co-I), Shabnam Wasim (Co-I), Dr Amy Rodgers (Co-I), Dr Suchi Nanjappa (Co-I), Dr Linda McSwiggan (Co-I)
Period of the grant: June to December 2022
Value of the Grant: £ 3,200
Project title: Co-design/co-production workshops to engage migrant and BAME groups in health and oral health promotion research.
Sponsor: Innovation, and Impact Development Fund (IIDF)
Grant Holders: Dr Siyang Yuan (PI), Dr Andrea Rodriguez (Co-I), Alison McFadden (Co-I), Chris Murray (Co-I)
Period of the grant: June to December 2022
Value of the Grant: : £ 1,800
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
Teaching
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 projects
Project lead
Research project
Developing, implementing and evaluating an oral health preventive programme for homeless populations across Scotland
Awards
Award | Year |
---|---|
Scottish Knowledge Exchange award / Knowledge Exchange Champion (Highly Commended) | 2025 |
Engaged Researcher of the Year / Stephen Fry Award | 2021 |
Stories
Press release
Staff and students from the University of Dundee have had their achievements recognised in the Scottish Parliament.

Press release
Three University of Dundee academics and projects have been named as finalists of the prestigious Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2025

Press release
Researchers at the University of Dundee, in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland, are leading training for oral health professionals who support people who are homeless or in prison
