Diogo André da Fonseca Pires

Diogo André da Fonseca Pires is an **Adjunct Professor** at the **Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (School of Health)** and a **Researcher** at the **Comprehensive Health Research Centre**, affiliated with the Nova University of Lisbon. His academic career includes roles as an Adjunct Professor (2022–present) and former Visiting Adjunct Professor at the Alcoitão School of Health (2020–2022). He holds a Doctorate in Public Health (Nova University of Lisbon, 2020), Master's degrees in Physiotherapy (Nova University of Lisbon and Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal), and a Bachelor's in Physiotherapy (Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco).

His research focuses on **health outcomes**, **epidemiology**, and **chronic pain management**, particularly in musculoskeletal conditions like low back pain. He has authored 16 peer-reviewed articles and 1 book chapter, with notable contributions to the **MyBack Programme**—a behavior change intervention targeting low back pain recurrence prevention. His work emphasizes patient-centered approaches, including pain neuroscience education and exercise-based therapies.

Dr. Pires has supervised 2 doctoral theses and 19 master’s dissertations (16 as primary supervisor, 3 co-supervised). He has received two academic merit awards (2011, 2014) and actively participates in research projects funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). His teaching spans courses on musculoskeletal physiotherapy, public health, and pain management.

His current projects include the **MyBack Programme** (hybrid effectiveness-implementation study) and cross-cultural adaptations of healthcare assessment tools. He also serves as a reviewer for several journals and conferences, contributing to advancing evidence-based practices in physiotherapy.