Elsa Pegado has a PhD in Sociology from Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and a Master's degree in Communication, Culture and Information Technology from the same institution. She is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Research Methods. She is a researcher and deputy director at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology of Iscte (CIES-Iscte). She has developed research in the area of sociology of health and illness, more specifically on Complementary and Alternative Medicines and on medications; in the area of social inequalities and poverty and social exclusion; and in the field of evaluation methodologies, evaluation of public policies, programs and projects. She is author and co-author of several publications and communications on these themes.