Beatriz Torres is a policy researcher who works in the fields of health and social policy. At UNU Global Health she contributes to the Institute's work on digital health. Much of her work has been mixed-methods and cross-sectoral, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis to inform policy.
She holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, where her research examined gender and autonomy in welfare policy design through Brazil's Bolsa Família programme, and an MSc in Global Health and Development from University College London, where she carried out a mixed-methods study on masculinity and violence against women and girls in Samoa.
She began her career in the UK Civil Service, working as a social researcher and then policy manager across the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care, where she led the design of a £1.4 million evaluation of a national musculoskeletal health programme and served as Assistant Private Secretary to the Minister for Disabled People. She joined UNU Global Health from the National Children's Bureau, where she served as the health and SEND policy lead and convened a coalition of 77 organisations engaging with DHSC and NHS England.