Lia Fernandes, MD, PhD
(Portugal), Board of Directors

Prof. Lia Fernandes completed her Master’s Degree in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oporto with the study: “Cognitive Deficit and Depression in the Aged” (1995) and her doctorate in the same Faculty, with the study: “Biopsychological Factors and Family Dynamics in Asthma Illness” (2005).

She is now Associate Professor in this Faculty of Medicine, in Psychiatry and Mental Health, as well as in the PhD Programme of Gerontology and Geriatrics.. She is also a Professor in the Nursing Master’s Degree program in Psychiatry and Mental Health at the Catholic University (since 1991). Additionally, she is a Professor in the National Psychogeriatric Programme for Psychiatry Residency and Professor of Psychology in the Superior Institute of Maia (1996-2003).

She is a Graduate Assistant member of the board of the Psychiatry Department of the Hospital of S. Joao of Oporto (1997) with a Gerontopsychiatric Consultation.

Prof. Fernandes is member of the board of the Portuguese Association of Gerontopsychiatry - APG (since 1999), participating in the organization of annual national congresses and regional meetings. In November 2009, Prof. Fernandes was elected President of this association; an IPA affiliate organization.

Prof. Fernandes has been an IPA member since 2007 and been deeply involved in IPA, attending biennial IPA international congresses with oral presentations/posters. She served on the Regional Committee of the IPA 2006 European Regional Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. She also served as Scientific Committee member and a Regional Coordinator of the IPA 2010 – International Meeting in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She is involved in the Scientific Committee and Local Organizing Committee (chair) of the 39th Congress of European Association of Geriatric Psychiatry (EAGP) and the 11th Congress of Associação Portuguesa de Gerontopsiquiatria (APG), with the theme Education and Research in Geriatric Psychiatry, which will be held 2nd – 4th November 2011, in Portugal.

She is also co-founder (1997) and direction member of the Dementia Cerebral Aging Group Study (2008-2010).
 
Prof. Fernandes is a researcher and member of the Education Unit on Ageing - UNIFAI/ICBAS - University of Oporto (since 2007) and a researcher in the project: Chronic diseases of the airways/contents and tools for productive interactions between empowered patients and proactive professionals - Harvard Medical School/FCT (since 2010). She also conducts research as a member of EHDN - European Huntington´s Disease Network – Behavioural Working Group (since 2008).

Prof. Lia Fernandes is a Family Therapy Psychotherapist, since 1995, with training in Systematic Family Therapy at the University of California and a member of the Board of Directors in the International Family Therapy Association (2009-2012).

She can be contacted at lia.fernandes@mail.telepac.pt.

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