Luiza completed her degree in Physical Education at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel, Brazil) in 2013, followed by a master’s in Physical Education in the field of Physical Activity and Health at the same institution in 2014. She then obtained a PhD in Epidemiology also at UFPel in 2019. During her doctoral studies, she worked with accelerometry data from 1-year-old children in the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort, developing a protocol for the measurement of physical activity in young children using accelerometers.
Following completion of her PhD in 2019, Luiza worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, Brazil), based at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. In the same year, she joined the International Center for Equity in Health (ICEH, UFPel, Brazil), where she worked as a postdoctoral researcher from 2019 to 2022, analysing international survey data to examine global health inequalities.
Luiza moved to the UK in 2022, working as MRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, focusing on physical activity epidemiology and population health.
Luiza joined the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at 亚洲情色 in 2026 as a Lecturer in Physical Activity and Public Health.
Luiza’s research focuses on physical activity behaviours in children and adolescents, with particular emphasis on:
- Socioeconomic inequalities, especially gender inequalities
- Accelerometry and other device-based measurement
Her work examines patterns and determinants of physical activity across childhood and adolescence, drawing on large-scale cohort studies and international survey data. A central strand of her research explores how inequalities shape movement behaviours, with a particular focus on gender disparities and the intersection between gender and socioeconomic factors.
She has contributed to research spanning observational and intervention studies, as well as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, with a broader interest in advancing understanding of physical activity in young people and supporting the development of more equitable approaches to promoting active lifestyles.
- Consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO)
- Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Physical Activity and Health
- Member of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health
- Member of the NIHR Reviewer Development Scheme
- Regular reviewer for a number of academic journals, including The Lancet, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, PLOS ONE, Preventive Medicine, BMC Public Health, BMC Women’s Health, International Journal for Equity in Health, BMJ Open, Public Health, Mental Health and Physical Activity, Reproductive Health, and Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour.
Featured publications
- Wendt A, Ricardo LIC, Gatica-Domínguez G. Health inequalities in Latin America: A Social Justice Challenge. In: Handbook of Social Justice in the Global South. Edward Elgar Publishing; 2025:272–286.
- Ricardo LIC, Wendt A, Tornquist D, et al. Gender gap for accelerometry-based physical activity across different age groups in 5 Brazilian cohort studies. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2024 Oct 15;21(11):1158–1166.
- Ryan M, Ricardo LIC, Nathan N, Hofmann R, van Sluijs E. Are school uniforms associated with gender inequalities in physical activity? A pooled analysis of population-level data from 135 countries/regions. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2024;13(4):590–598.
- Ricardo LIC, Wendt A, dos Santos Costa C, et al. Gender inequalities in physical activity among adolescents from 64 Global South countries. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2022;11(4):509–520.
- Ricardo LIC, Hallal PC, Domingues MR, et al. Association between objectively measured physical activity of parents and children: The 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2022;32(8):1287–1296.
- Ricardo LIC, da Silva ICM, de Andrade Leão OA, Domingues MR, Wehrmeister FC. Objectively measured physical activity in one-year-old children from a Brazilian cohort: Levels, patterns and determinants. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2019;16:1–13.
- Ricardo LIC, da Silva ICM, Martins RC, Wendt A, Gonçalves H, Hallal PRC, Wehrmeister FC. Protocol for objective measurement of infants' physical activity using accelerometry. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2018;50(5):1084–1092.
- Ricardo LIC, Rombaldi A, Otte J, Perez A, Azevedo M. Association between social support and leisure-time physical activity among high school students. Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde. 2013;18(2):168.