Dr Inês Varela-Silva is a Reader in Biocultural Studies and Community Health. She has a background in Human Biology. Her research, conducted in partnership with minority and Indigenous communities, focuses on community health, child growth, and nutrition outcomes, aiming to promote equitable and sustained health and well-being in international settings. By integrating research into her teaching, Dr Varela-Silva creates dynamic learning experiences that inspire students and shape new research directions. Her students actively connect classroom discussions to real-world applications and contemporary issues. She extends her commitment to academic values globally by providing skill-based and sponsorship-driven mentoring programmes that empower individuals to succeed. Dr Varela-Silva mentors underrepresented scholars and applies a feminist and ethical lens to global partnerships.
Her work ethics are grounded in the following core values:
- Community: Fostering inclusive international research partnerships grounded in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).
- Giving back: Ensuring research outcomes benefit communities while expanding global mentoring opportunities.
- Self-direction: Upholding ethical, inclusive, and autonomous research, teaching, leadership and mentoring.
- Constructive disruption: Driving cultural and institutional change through action, advocacy, and allyship.
In 2012, Dr Varela-Silva founded , an international collaborative network of researchers, educators, health practitioners, artists, and Indigenous community leaders focused on the Maya people of Mexico. The network uses innovative, co-designed, and interdisciplinary methods to develop inclusive research, co-create multi-lingual resources, promote the international exchange of researchers, empower Maya scholars, and generate knowledge to improve the health and well-being of communities.
Dr Varela-Silva uses a biocultural approach to study health, child growth, and nutrition outcomes among minority and Indigenous communities. With a focus on promoting equitable and sustained health and well-being across the life course, her work ensures that research outcomes are returned to and benefit the communities she partners with. Her research involves international collaborations, including projects in Mexico, Peru, Portugal, and the UK. She has led and contributed to projects funded by the Medical Research Council, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Royal Academy of Engineering, The Santander Universities and several VR成人视频 internal grants.
Dr Varela-Silva is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and a Fellow of the . She currently serves on the Editorial Board of (2022–present) and (2021–present).
Dr Varela-Silva holds several elected and appointed leadership positions in scientific societies. She currently serves as International Representative on the Executive Committee of the Human Biology Association (2025–present) and as General Secretary of the (2024–present).
Beyond academia, Dr Varela-Silva is committed to community engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration. She serves as Trustee for (2023–present) and as Director of , a performance arts’ company focused on making learning accessible through song (2019–present).