Renata Reis, Ph.D.

Vital Strategies Executive Committee, Vice Chair for Programs

Ms. Renata Reis, Ph.D. is a Policy/Advocacy professional and lawyer specializing in intellectual property rights, with emphasis on patents and access to medicines. Currently, she is the Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières in Brazil (MSF-Brazil) and previously worked as Deputy General Director.  Between 2017- was the Regional Humanitarian Access Advisor for Latin America at Médecins Sans Frontières – Belgium. Renata was the Head of Institutional Relations and responsible for Advocacy, structuring the MSF advocacy area in Brazil.

Renata has a long history of working with Brazilian civil society organizations, especially in the field of health and HIV-AIDS. She was Project/Advocacy Coordinator at the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association – ABIA, where she coordinated the Working Group on Intellectual Property of REBRIP (Brazilian Net for the Integration of the Peoples), which brought together 17 civil society organizations. She is also a Professor of Advocacy and Humanitarian Aid in Master’s Degree at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC – Rio).   

Renata was a member of the Task Force Global Health Diplomacy and Cooperation of the LANCET Commission for COVID-19. Moreover, she is a member of the Board of CONECTAS Human Rights in Brazil.

Renata has a PhD in Public Policies, Strategies and Development from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with a thesis on Pressure Groups in the National Congress in relation to the approval process of the Brazilian Patent Law. Her thesis is a reference book on the subject in Brazil. Graduated in  Journalism and Law, with a Master in Social Policies from the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro – UENF with an exchange scholarship at the Université Libre de Bruxelles – ULB, Belgium.