Luciana De Michelis Mendonça

Professor at the UFMG (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. President of the IFSPT (International Federation of Sports Physical Therapy), being on the executive board since 2017.

Dr Luciana De Michelis Mendonça is a professor at a Federal University in Brazil and develops research in the sports physical therapy field. Luciana assisted the organization efforts of physical therapy services for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She worked with the Brazilian national male volleyball team (under 19) and at a sports center at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, dealing with athletes from different sports. She has been an associate of the SONAFE (Brazilian National Society of Sports Physical Therapy) since 2007 and has completed 6 years of service on SONAFE's Executive Board. Dr Mendonça was the SONAFE's first female president (2016-2017), in a country with many restrictions on women's participation in sports and politics. In 2017, she was elected to the executive board of IFSPT and currently serves as IFSPT President.