Vanessa Goes, PhD, RD, is a transdisciplinary researcher, educator, integrative health professional, and artist whose work bridges science, the arts, movement, and diverse wisdom traditions to cultivate pathways for human and planetary flourishing. Grounded in a holistic perspective and informed by systems thinking, she fosters integrative approaches to health, education, sustainability, and cultural transformation through the lens of Planetary Health.

A Registered Dietitian with an MSc and PhD in Food Science from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), her multidisciplinary training also encompasses Functional Sports Nutrition, Contemporary Dance, Somatic Movement, Movement-Based Rehabilitation and Therapy (Angel Vianna Centre for Movement and Arts Studies), Pilates, and Health and Wellness Coaching.

She is a Lecturer at AFYA, Brazil’s largest ecosystem for medical education and healthcare solutions, and Co-founder and Head of Scientific and Creative Strategy at the Mentoring Research Network (MRN), an international network fostering research capacity and collaboration across the Global South, where she leads the development of the Wellness Mentorship Program. She serves on the Leadership Team of the Governance Working Group for the Planetary Health Roadmap and Action Plan, co-led by Sunway University and Georgetown University She contributed to the São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health, co-developed the Food Detectives educational initiative, and played a leading role in establishing the Arts Programme Committee of the 2025 Planetary Health Annual Meeting (PHAM 2025), helping integrate the arts into its scientific programme. She also collaborates with Girawa to advance transdisciplinary, nature-centred education.

She believes that education, creativity, and the arts are among the most powerful pathways for reconnecting people with themselves, one another, and the living world, while cultivating the conditions for human and planetary flourishing.