Fábio Rafael Augusto holds a PhD in Sociology from the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ICS-ULisboa). His doctoral project, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Research Council (ERC), explored the relational and organizational dynamics of various food assistance initiatives operating in Portugal. He completed his undergraduate degree (2012) and master's degree (2014) in Sociology at the University of Beira Interior (UBI).

During his time at ICS-ULisboa, Fábio served as a member of the School Council (2020-2022), the ‘Social Inclusion’ Reflection Group of Missão Continente (2021-2022), and the Local Organizing Committee for the XI Portuguese Congress of Sociology (2020-2021).  He currently serves on the Pedagogical Council and the Outreach Committee of ICS-ULisboa. He is also a member of the coordination team of the Observatory of Changing Society (OSeM), the Strategic Council of Missão Continente, the Ethics Council of the Portuguese Sociological Association, and its thematic section “Civil Society, Alternative Economies, Volunteering”.

Over the past few years, he has been active as a guest lecturer at the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém. From 2018 to 2020, he taught an introductory course on Social Sciences at the School of Health. Between 2022 and 2024, he served as an Adjunct Guest Professor in the Social Education program at the School of Education. He is currently a Guest Assistant Professor at the Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ISCSP-ULisboa) and a faculty member in the PhD program in Sociology (OpenSoc), representing ICS-ULisboa.

His research career includes participation in the projects "TRANSE-AC: Social and Environmental Transition," supported by the FCT (2016-2017); "Families and Food in Hard Times," funded by the ERC (2016-2018); and "VAX-TRUST: Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in Europe," supported by the European Commission (2022-2024). Recently, he was awarded a grant from the FCT through the Scientific Employment Stimulus Program (CEEC, 6th Edition), which supports his project “Bringing Care from the Margins to the Centre of Food Poverty”, based at ICS-ULisboa.

He has actively contributed to producing and presenting a wide range of scientific outputs (i.e., books, articles, chapters, reports, proceedings, reviews, research & policy briefs, and educational resources) aimed at both academic and non-academic audiences. His key publications include the books “Alimentação em Tempos de Crise” (2019); “Practical and Ethical Dilemmas in Researching Sensitive Topics with Populations Considered Vulnerable” (2020), and "Ajuda Alimentar e Práticas de Cuidado" (2025).

In recognition of his work, he has received four academic merit awards and seven distinctions for his scientific achievements, including the ERICS Prize (Stimulation and Recognition of Internationalization in Social Sciences), awarded in both the 2021 and 2022 editions.

His research interests focus on sensitive topics involving vulnerable populations. While he has experience with mixed methods, his expertise lies in qualitative approaches. The thematic areas he explores are centered on food-related issues, including food assistance, inequality, poverty, social exclusion, and health concerns.