Maria Amelia Veras, MD, MPH, Ph.D., is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Collective Health Department of Santa Casa Medical School in São Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Veras has over 25 years of experience in conducting epidemiological studies related to HIV/AIDS in Brazil, especially focused on the LGBT community. She is the leader of the research group NUDHES (Health, Sexuality and Human Rights of LGBT+ community). She is a member of the board of the Red Iberoamericana de Estudios en Hombres Gay, Otros HSH y Personas Trans (RIGHT-Plus) (Ibero-American Network on Men Who Have Sex with Men and Trans Studies). She has been involved in research and training in the US, Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique. Currently, she is the site-PI in São Paulo, Brazil for two large NIH grants. Her research interests include stigma and its role in health inequalities affecting the LBGT population in Brazil, barriers to access HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases prevention and care.