About
Dr Bruna Rubbo is a Lecturer B with the Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) team.
Her research focuses on optimising care pathways for individuals with PCD, spanning early diagnosis, disease monitoring, and long-term management. She has a particular interest in developing and applying innovative analytical approaches to uncover patterns and relationships within complex datasets, including multi-omics data, to advance understanding of PCD and improve patient outcomes.
Research
Research interests
- Primary ciliary dyskinesia
- Rare diseases
- Epidemiology
- Causal inference
- Longitudinal data
Current research
Dr. Rubbo’s research centers on optimizing clinical care for individuals with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), a rare genetic disorder affecting respiratory function. Her work spans international service delivery models and the development of predictive screening tools to improve early diagnosis and management. Key ongoing projects include:
Service delivery for PCD across countries
PCD care systems differ significantly between and within countries. To better understand these variations, Dr. Rubbo employed a mixed-methods approach, beginning with in-depth interviews with PCD experts worldwide. These insights informed the design of a comprehensive survey that maps referral pathways, diagnostic protocols, management strategies, and funding structures across more than 30 countries.
Predictive screening tools for PCD
Early and accurate diagnosis of PCD is critical. Dr. Rubbo is working to refine and expand the use of PICADAR, a validated clinical prediction tool designed to help clinicians identify patients who may benefit from further testing at specialised PCD centers. While a modified version of PICADAR for adults has been developed, it has not yet undergone formal validation. Additionally, no tailored tools currently exist for neonates and young children.
The project aims to develop and validate age-appropriate predictive tools for adults, and for children under 4 years of age.
Research projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
Dr Rubbo co-supervises three clinical PhD students at the University of Southampton and one PhD student at the University of Bristol.
She also supervises BMedSc projects.
Biography
Bruna Rubbo received her medical degree in 2006 from the Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas da Santa Casa de Sao Paulo (Brazil). She worked as GP for 3 years before relocating to the UK to obtain her MSc. She was awarded a BRC scholarship to undertake a MSc in Clinical and Experimental Medicine at UCL, which she completed with distinction in 2011. She worked as a research assistant with the Clinical Epidemiology group at UCL from 2012 to 2014, and then as a senior research assistant with the Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) group at the University of Southampton between 2015 and 2020.
She undertook a PhD with the PCD group under the supervision of Professor Jane Lucas, and was awarded a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology by the University of Southampton in 2021. During her PhD, she explored the application of different methods (e.g. topological data analysis) to analyse small and complex datasets in PCD.
Upon completion of her PhD, she trained as a postdoctoral scholar in workforce research at the University of Southampton, where she developed skills in longitudinal and multilevel modelling. She relocated to California (USA) to train as a postdoctoral scholar in environmental epidemiology for a year, at the University of Southern California (USC). During her time in the US, she trained in non-linear longitudinal modelling and metabolomics. Upon completion of her scholarship, she returned to the UK to work in suicide prevention research at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with the Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention at the University of Edinburgh. In this position, she evaluated the effects of policy interventions in observational study designs (e.g. interrupted time series analyses).
She was awarded a BRC Bridging Fellowship in 2024 to develop fellowship and project proposals with the PCD group at University of Southampton.
Prizes
- NIHR BRC Bridging Fellowship (2023)
- Abstract Scholarship by the American Thoracic Society Assembly on Respiratory Structure and Function (2020)
- Circassia Prize for Best Poster Presentation (2019)
- Outstanding contribution to the Organisation of the BEAT-PCD Conference (2019)
- Outstanding contribution to the organisation of the BEAT-PCD Conference (2018)
- Vertex Prize for Best Poster Presentation (2017)
- UCLH/UCL Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre bursary (2010)
- NIHR BRC Bridging Fellowship (2023)
- Abstract Scholarship by the American Thoracic Society Assembly on Respiratory Structure and Function (2020)
- Circassia Prize for Best Poster Presentation (2019)
- Outstanding contribution to the Organisation of the BEAT-PCD Conference (2019)
- Outstanding contribution to the organisation of the BEAT-PCD Conference (2018)
- Vertex Prize for Best Poster Presentation (2017)
- UCLH/UCL Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre bursary (2010)