Paola Maffi

Paola completed her BSc in Medical Biotechnology at the University of Padua, Italy, and obtained a Research Master’s degree in Global Health from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2022. Her master’s thesis focused on community engagement in humanitarian settings affected by conflicts and disasters and was conducted in collaboration with UNICEF. Following her graduation, Paola worked for two years at the VU Amsterdam as a junior lecturer, researcher, and project officer for a European Union Horizon project.

Since 2024, Paola has been a PhD candidate in Global Health, Humanitarian Aid, and Disaster Medicine at the CRIMEDIM. Her research focuses on participatory approaches in disaster risk management, with particular attention to intersectional perspectives and the inclusion of vulnerable communities, especially migrant populations.

At CRIMEDIM, Paola serves as the PhD researcher of the Horizon Europe project PREPSHIELD, which focuses on strengthening social and societal preparedness for health crises and disasters. She also contributed to the grant acquisition of the project REACT – Resilience Enhancement of Migrants through Active Community Participation and Peer Training, funded under the call Inequalities Research, for which she serves as the scientific coordinator.

Beyond her work with CRIMEDIM, Paola is an active member of the Associazione Italiana di Epidemiologia (Italian Association of Epidemiology), where she collaborates with the working group on migrant health (Salute Migranti). She is also a member of Citizen Science Italia and Citizen Science for Health Europe.