Generally speaking, my research explores the social and structural antecedents and determinants of health and well-being. I am particularly interested in understanding how public policy (especially immigration policies) affects the lives of minoritized and marginalized societal groups.
I also believe that the key to scholarly impact and a successful academic career is collaboration. Thus, throughout the years, I have collaborated with different academic partners in South America, Europe, and the United States.
I have been involved in research groups and research projects with colleagues from different countries, disciplines, and interdisciplinary backgrounds, and my goal is to leverage these connections as I build my own independent research agenda.
Below are some examples of institutional partners I collaborated with in the past and continue to be connected with:
The Forced Migration Initiative (FMI)
at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis
The Rest & Resilience Research Group
at the University of Alabama School of Social Work
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The Human Rights Nudge Project
at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law
Human Rights & Citizenship Research Group
at Univali (Brazil), School of Legal and Social Sciences
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
I. International migration, immigrant well-being, and policy
da Luz Scherf, E., Naseh, M., and Lee, J. (2026). Immigration Policies as Social Determinants of Health Among International Students in the United States. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-026-01948-2
Lee, J., Naseh, M., Sarvenaz, T., Badiezadeh, S., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2026). Health Impacts of Migration and Policy on the Iranian Diaspora. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-025-01844-1
da Luz Scherf, E., & Badiezadeh, S. (2025). Immigration Policy as a Social Determinant of Health among Brazilian Immigrants in the United States: A Narrative Review. Health Care Analysis, 33(1), 76–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10728-024-00499-7
Zanatta, M.L.A.L., & da Luz Scherf, E. (2019). The Role of Rights-Based Social Work in Contemporary Latin American Diasporas: The Case of Venezuelan Migrant Children. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 4(4), 238-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-019-00104-1
II. Public health, health equity, and health-related topics
Bride, B. E., Hatcher, S., & da Luz Scherf, E. (Accepted Nov. 2025). Personal Trauma History and Secondary Traumatic Stress Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Trauma Impact. Forthcoming in Social Work (NASW Press).
Lee, H. Y., Malele-Kubanga, K., Won, C.R., da Luz Scherf, E., & Park, G. Y. (2025). Empowering Rural Alabama: The Critical Role and Challenges of Community Health Providers in Healthcare Delivery During the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Welfare Policy and Practice, 11(2), 49-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.37342/swpp.2025.11.2.49
da Luz Scherf, E. (2024). Addressing Discrimination and Healthcare Disparities for Sexual and Gender Minorities in South Africa: A Human Rights-Based Perspective. Journal of Health Management, Ahead-of-Print. https://doi.org/10.1177/09720634231216025
da Luz Scherf, E., & Viana da Silva, M. V. (2023). Brazil’s Yanomami Health Disaster: Addressing the public health emergency requires advancing criminal accountability. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 01–05. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1166167
da Luz Scherf, E., Alves Lima Zanatta, M. de, Viana da Silva, M. V., & da Silva, J. E. (2022). Health Care Access by Transgender Persons in South Africa: Gender-based Discrimination, Human Rights Violations, and the Role of the African Human Rights System. Journal Health and Technology, 1(4), 01–22. https://doi.org/10.47820/jht.v1i4.25
da Luz Scherf, E., Viana da Silva, M., & S. Fachini, J. (2021). The management (or lack thereof) of COVID-19 in Brazil: implications for human rights and public health. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, 14(2), 158-174. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhrh-09-2020-0085
III. Social work education, practice, and research
Giorgio Cosenzo, L. A., Scales, J., Hossain, M.D. S., Nwatu, U., Taer, H., da Luz Scherf, E., Bell, A. (Accepted May 2026). Harvesting Hope: A case example of experiential, community-engaged learning implemented in collaboration with a community garden, BSW, and PhD students. Forthcoming in the Journal of Social Work Education.
da Luz Scherf, E. (2024). Anti-Racist Values in Portuguese Baccalaureate Social Work Education: A Content Analysis Study. International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 21(2), 86-114. https://doi.org/10.55521/10-021-208
da Luz Scherf, E. (2023). Latin American perspectives on Indigenous Social Work: In search of mind, body, and soul. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 19(1), 155–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801221140460
da Luz Scherf, E. (2021). Challenges in making school social work a reality in Brazilian schools. International Social Work, 66(2), 590–596. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211031965
Book Chapters
da Luz Scherf, E. (2022). Critical perspectives on social work and social policy practice with vulnerable migrants in an era of emergencies. In A. Jolly, R. Cefalo, & M. Pomati (Eds.), Social Policy Review 34 (1st ed., pp. 134–157). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.46692/9781447365815.008
da Luz Scherf, E., Viana da Silva, M.V., & da Silva, J.E. (2021). Indigenous Rights, Necropolitics and the 'Daily Genocides' of Brazil’s Native and Traditional Peoples. In T. Ribeiro Teles (Ed.), Língua(gens), Literaturas, Culturas, Identidades e Direitos Indígenas no Brasil [Languages, Literature, Culture, Identity, and Indigenous Rights in Brazil] (1st ed., pp. 172-180). BAGAI. http://dx.doi.org/10.37008/978-65-89499-57-2.23.04.21
da Luz Scherf, E. (2018). Manaus' massacre as a result of the crisis in the Brazilian penitentiary system: an analysis in the light of international human rights law. In A. Jobim do Amaral et al (Eds.), Anais do 8º Congresso Internacional de Ciências Criminais – PUCRS [Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on Criminal Sciences – Global Criminology Section], Vol. 3 (1st ed., pp. 121-140). Tirant Lo Blanch.
Book Reviews
da Luz Scherf, E. (2025). Review of the book Just Health: Treating Structural Racism to Heal America by D. B. Matthew. Families, Systems, & Health, 43(1), 162–164. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000942
da Luz Scherf, E. (2020). Mary Mee-Yin Yuen, Solidarity and Reciprocity with Migrants in Asia: Catholic and Confucian Ethics in Dialogue. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 29(4), 553-555. https://doi.org/10.1177/0117196820983983
Conference Proceedings
Giorgio Cosenzo, L., da Luz Scherf, E., & Ruggiano, N. (2024). Unveiling the association between social isolation and sleep disturbances among Latinx older women and men. Innovation in Aging, 8(Suppl._1), 1174–1174. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae098.3762
Policy Briefs (non-refereed)
da Luz Scherf, E. (2026, May). Protecting Immigrant Farmworkers and Securing America’s Agricultural Workforce: A Policy Brief (Policy Brief). Council on Social Work Education’s Doctoral Student Policy Fellowship. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11059.39206