UA School of Social Work Welcomes Visiting Scholar from Brazil

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Brazilian psychology professor Marcelo Tavares is currently serving as a visiting scholar in The University  of Alabama School of Social Work.

Tavares comes to UA from the Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil. He is working to build stronger collaborations between his home institution and The University of Alabama School of Social Work.  His five-week stay will conclude on Nov. 13.

“I am very excited about what I will learn and experience here,” said Tavares.  “I am looking forward to sharing my research experiences with my colleagues and students in Brazil and enhancing collaboration between the two institutions.”

During his time at UA, Tavares will be working with Dr. Debra Nelson-Gardell, associate professor of social work, as well as other colleagues in the School of Social Work.

Nelson-Gardell said she and Tavares are following up on helping Reginaldo Torres Alves Júnior, a Brazilian doctoral visiting scholar who lectured about the Brazilian child welfare system during a visit to UA in 2012, publish his findings.

Nelson-Gardell served as a visiting scholar at the University of Brasilia during the summer, where she co-taught a 40-hour course titled “Child sexual abuse: identification, evaluation and treatment.” She also collaborated in a research project regarding forensic interviews with children suspected to be victims of sexual violence, participated as a member of the University of Brasilia’s doctoral dissertation defense committee, and visited and collaborated with social services offered to victims of sexual violence.

“We are working to build and strengthen ‎a partnership with exchange opportunities between our two universities,” said Nelson-Gardell. “We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Tavares to the UA School of Social Work as a Visiting Scholar. Tavares is a really important connection for the University of Alabama, and we are working to better that partnership.”

Tavares, whose research interests include suicide prevention and crisis intervention, will be exploring research collaborations, especially in the areas of crisis and suicide interventions.  In addition to his own research, he wishes to collaborate and become familiar with the work of the U.S. mental health and child protection systems.