Dr Lacerda is a pediatric oncologist working in Lisbon, Portugal, with a very special interest in the implementation and development of pediatric palliative care (PPC).
After graduating from Lisbon University Medical School, she completed her pediatric residency at NYU Medical Center, where she was drawn to the needs of children with complex chronic conditions.
While completing an MSc degree in PC at King's College London / Cicely Saunders Institute she began raising awareness about the unmet needs of Portuguese children and families. She received the Dame Cicely Saunders Prize for Academic Excellence in Palliative Care (2014), for her thesis “Cause and place of death of children and adolescents in Portugal (1987-2011): an epidemiological study”.
In 2005 she founded the first in-hospital PPC team in Portugal, at the Department of Paediatrics of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology Lisbon Centre / IPOLFG (which she chairs since June 2023). In 2013 she founded the PPC Taskforces at the Portuguese Association of Palliative Care and the Portuguese Pediatric Society. She is also a founding member of the Portuguese Observatory of Palliative Care, and has been working closely with the Portuguese Ministry of Health. She is also a member of the EAPC Children and Young People Reference Group, which she co-chaired 2019-21 and chaired 2022-23, and currently serves on the EAPC Board (2023-27).