Cristina Palmer Barros, MD, PhD

Cristina joined the MSCED on a research sabbatical for a year (August 2018 to July 2019) as a visiting scholar and PhD student in Health Sciences from Federal University of Uberlândia in Minas Gerais, Brazil. She received a grant from the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education – CAPES,  in order to conduct part of her doctoral research,  Phenotypic Characterization and Biomarkers Investigation for Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Pediatric Patients, under the mentorship of Dr. Mirna Chehade, director of the MSCED. Cristina is a pediatric gastroenterologist, and coordinator of the Pediatric Food Allergy Healthcare Programme of Uberlândia.  She is also a professor of pediatric gastroenterology at the Pediatric Department at Federal University of Uberlândia. Her research work in Brazil includes trying to find biomarkers and the phenotypic traits of EoE in pediatric patients, developing a pediatric EoE symptom score that is translatable and culturally adaptive, and assessing the process of diagnosis of cow milk allergy in pediatric patients. In her spare time, Cristina enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with her children.