DrDaniela Sofia Albino Costa

Daniela worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at NOVA Medical School (NMS), NOVA University of Lisbon, in the EpiDoC Unit, under the EU-funded HealthEConnect project (2024–2025). This project aimed to develop and implement a Master’s in Health Innovation designed for business and entrepreneurial professionals. During this time she was involved in the development of Senior Medical School, a participatory community care programme that connects medical students and researchers with older adults in the community, at NOVA Medical School.

She was an Assistant Professor at Escola Superior de Saúde do Alcoitão (2022–2024), teaching in BSc and MSc physiotherapy programs and developed and coordinated the first postgraduate programme in Rheumatology in Physiotherapy.  In addition, she served as an Invited Lecturer at NOVA Medical School (NMS), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (2024-2025), Escola Superior de Saúde, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (2022–2024) and at Escola Superior de Saúde Dr. Lopes Dias Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (2015–2022). Since 2023 she successfully supervised 7 MSc students, and co-supervised 3 MSc students, with the following research themes: development and implementation of Osteoarthritis physiotherapy management programs; prevalence of urinary incontinence in people admitted to hospital settings and respiratory rehabilitation;

ratios of physiotherapist in hospital settings; and epidemiological analysis of handball sports injuries. 

Between 2011 and 2019, Daniela worked as a registered physiotherapist at Unidade Local de Saude de Castelo Branco - Hospital Amato Lusitano (2015-2019) and private practice settings (2011-2015) in Portugal. Her clinical practice included outpatient care for individuals with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as acute care in intensive care units and in-hospital orthopaedic rehabilitation.