Ana Teresa Afonso holds a Master's degree in Public Health (International Health) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) (2021) and a Bachelors degree in Nursing from ESECG in Lisbon (2008). During her graduate studies, she did the Erasmus program in Malmo Hogskola, Sweden. 

She is an Invited Assistant professor at the Department of Sociology, School of Sociology and Public Policy at ISCTE-IUL and currently teaches the curricular unit of Public Health in the Master of Humanitarian Action at ISCTE-IUL (also available for  Development Studies, International Relations and Public Policy Msc). 

She has a vast curriculum and field experience in several humanitarian contexts (conflict and disaster settings) in  clinical/technical and coordination roles in medium and large-scale emergency responses, with strong links to international organizations and humanitarian community: Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), IOM, UK-MED (World Health Organization EMT Initiative) - where she currently acts as Senior Health Consultant/Advisor in Humanitarian Health for the design/strategy and lead of integrated public health programs and health responses.

She has developed operational and field experience, project  management and negotiation skills with local governments, donor agencies, UN partners and reporting processes in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia, Africa (South Sudan, Guinea Bissau, Malawi), Bangladesh, Laos, Venezuela, Ukraine. 

She participates in training and capacity building projects for professionals in the humanitarian setting and collaborates with partners and international academic institutions: University of Glasgow -  "Migrant and Refugee Health in Humanitarian emergencies" session; The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd); London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM),collaborating in the Humanitarian Health Crisis Center (HHCC); UK-HSA (Health Security Agency);

She is a facilitator/trainer in the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST)- Deployment course; READY Initiative (USAID) -program that strengthens the capacity of local NGOs to respond to large infectious disease outbreaks through face-to-face training and e-learning) and other organizations such as International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kabul, Afghanistan; Johanniter International South Sudan or SAMS in Gaziantep, Turkey. 

Her current research interests are: migrant and refugee &Social determinants of Health, strengthening public health systems and evaluations in fragile contexts, communication in health and public health policies, multisectorial coordination of emergency responses, and training and professionalization of humanitarian workers.