Sandra joined the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science (PBS) in 1995, having been previously a lecturer at the Institute of Psychology of PUC-RS, Brazil. A social and clinical psychologist by training, her research focuses on human development under contextual adversity, the social psychology of public spheres, community development and the socio-cultural context of knowledge. Sandra has held visiting professorships in France, Brazil and Sweden and advised a wide range of international organisations including UNESCO and WHO. She continues to hold strong teaching and research links in her native Brazil and Latin America as a whole.
In 2012, Sandra was made a Fellow of the British Psychological Society in recognition for her expertise and contribution to the field of social and cultural psychology. Her overall research and intellectual project are firmly grounded on the idea of psychology as a societal and cultural science.
Her books include Knowledge in Context: Representations, community and culture (Routledge, 2007; Classics Edition, 2017; Portuguese translation, Vozes, 2008); Underground Sociabilities: identity, culture and resistance in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas (UNESCO, 2013, with J Priego-Hernandez; Portuguese edition, UNESCO, 2013), Social Representations and the Public Sphere: the symbolic construction of public spaces in Brazil (In Portuguese, Vozes, 2000) and Textos em Representações Sociais (in Portuguese, Vozes, 1994, now in its 15th reprint).