André Almo de Moraes Coutinho

Biography

I am a dedicated researcher and educator with a background in Biomedical Science, Neuroscience, Nutrition, and Game-Based Learning. Currently, I am pursuing my PhD at the Technological University Dublin, where I am funded by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Centre for Research Training in Digitally-Enhanced Reality (d-real). My research focuses on Digital Game-Based Learning in mathematics education, particularly through the ‘Happy Maths’ project.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and a Master of Philosophy in Food, Health, and Nutrition from the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ). My research projects included several themes, such as the psychophysiological aspects of eating behaviour, neural biomarkers of Binge Eating Disorder, the impact of dietary habits on metabolic diseases, ultra-processed products, public health and marketing. I am also a collaborator in the Laboratory of Behavioural Neurophysiology (LABNEC - UFF) and in the Laboratory for Interaction Studies between Nutrition and Genetics (LEING - UERJ), where I developed my previous research projects.

I am passionate about science communication, education, game design, art, pop culture, neuroscience, nutrition, sustainability, creative writing and academic writing. Part of my free time goes into developing digital and tabletop games, such as the recent 'Living Beeings', a board game about pollinators, which was funded by the Irish Museum of Modern Art. I have been working with science communication for sustainability since 2018, through in-person events, social media campaigns, videos, and podcasts.