Clarissa Simas
BSc MSc
Research Fellow
LSHTM
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom
I am a Research Fellow for the Vaccine Confidence Project™ at LSHTM. I hold an MSc in Medical Anthropology from University College London (UCL) and a BSc in Psychology from University of Brasília. I specialise in qualitative methodology with a particular interest in behaviours and social interactions in outbreak settings. I act as the team lead for South and Central America fieldwork and research. In addition, I currently act as scientific coordinator for EBODAC (Ebola Vaccine Deployment and Acceptance) in West Africa, with a focus on community engagement and rumour management; as the research lead (fieldwork and analyses) of Brazil, Mexico and Panama for a Global study on attitudes towards Maternal Immunisation; as part of NIHR funded AViD (Anthropology of Vaccine Deployment) project, leading a case study in Brazil investigating impacts of the Zika outbreak in vaccine confidence. Together with Professor Heidi Larson, I am currently coordinating a Lancet Commission on the Emotional Determinants of Health, exploring how emotions can affect healthcare delivery, policy and ultimately health outcomes. I have previously investigated experiences of caregivers and healthcare professionals during the 2015/2016 Zika outbreak in Brazil, funded by the Wellcome Trust; and led the investigation of acceptance of social media HIV/STI prevention interventions amongst European youth, commissioned by the European Centre for Disease Control. In addition, I have at occasions participated in systematic reviews of literature also commissioned by this centre.
Affiliations
Centres
Research
My research interests include (but not limited to): risk perception and decision making, trust and mistrust dynamics, vaccine confidence and hesitancy (with a particular focus in South America), outbreak preparedness and response, somatic reactions to vaccination.