My academic background is in demography and I have been working on several research projects related to population trends in Latin America, public policies, fertility, migration, and economic development. This work has been done through the analysis of survey and census data, using statistical and geo-processing tools.

Between September 2008 and June 2009, I served as a researcher at the Center of Studies on Public Policies (CEPP) at the João Pinheiro Foundation (FJP), Minas Gerais, Brazil. I was involved with multidisciplinary research groups dealing with the evaluation of the impact of different policies.

Between October 2007 and September 2008, I worked as a post-doctoral researcher at CEDEPLAR/UFMG the Center of Development and Regional Planning at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The main goal of my research was to understand how internal migration, female labor force participation, as well as an increased influence from the protestant religion have been shaping economic development in Brazil.

Between August 2002 and August 2007, I attended the doctorate program in sociology with a demography specialization at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). The core analysis of my dissertation addressed the influence of demographic transition on economic development in Brazil. My dissertation research was funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Population Reference Bureau, through the Dissertation Fellowship in Population, Reproductive Health and Economic Development (2006–2007), as well as by a fellowship for Ph.D. scholars in foreign countries from the Brazilian Ministry of Education (CAPES/MEC) between 2002 and 2006.

Between February 2000 and May 2002, I attended the masters program in demography at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. My thesis dealt with the estimation of migration rates to the Brazilian states of Goiás and Federal District.

Between March 1996 and January 2000, I attended the bachelor program in social sciences at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Brazil. My final project was related to the socio-spatial mobility in the metropolitan region of Goiânia, Brazil.