Ana Laura Ricci-Vitor

Ana Laura Ricci-Vitor is an Associate Professor of Physiotherapy at the Escola Superior de Saúde Atlântica, Universidade Atlântica in Portugal. She holds a PhD in Medicine (Cardiology) from Universidade Federal de São Paulo (2016) and a postdoctoral specialization in Virtual Reality Therapy in Cardiac Rehabilitation from Universidade Estadual Paulista (2020). She has extensive experience in cardiovascular rehabilitation, autonomic modulation, and exercise physiology, with over 30 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Web of Science and Scopus.

Her research focuses on innovative therapies such as virtual reality-based interventions for cardiac patients and the physiological effects of resistance training in chronic diseases. She has led 4 research projects funded by Brazilian and international agencies, including studies on particulate matter effects on cardiovascular health and the reliability of clinical assessment tools.

Prof. Ricci-Vitor has authored two book chapters on neurological assessment in physiotherapy and has presented over 100 conference abstracts. She has held academic positions at institutions in Brazil (e.g., UNESP, UNIFESP) and Luxembourg (LUNEX University). Her work emphasizes translational research, bridging exercise physiology with clinical rehabilitation outcomes.

Key areas of expertise include: autonomic nervous system modulation, cardiovascular disease rehabilitation, respiratory physiology, and the application of emerging technologies (e.g., VR) in healthcare.