Joana Menezes Nunes

A Journey in the Making

Joana Maria de Menezes Nunes was born in Porto (Portugal) and finished secondary school with a grade of 20/20 (Escola Secundária Carolina Michäelis). From 2001 until 2007 she studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto / Hospital de São João (graduated with 16/20). During her degree, she was awarded the D. Idalina de Almeida and Prof. Doutor Tiago de Almeida prizes (best student in Medicine – 6th-year subject). She completed all her medical training at Hospital São João in Porto, where she was also a volunteer lecturer in Endocrinology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto.

In 2015, she obtained her Specialist Degree in Endocrinology and Nutrition with 19.9/20 and decided to leave the National Health Service for private medicine – Trofa Saúde and Luz Saúde. From 2016 to 2018, by invitation, she was Director of the Endocrinology Department at Trofa Saúde Alfena, where she implemented protocols for action and interaction between different specialties. In 2018, she left her job at Trofa Saúde and remained with the Luz Saúde medical group as an endocrinologist and co-investigator in clinical trials, the latest being STEP 4 of the Danish pharmaceutical company NovoNordisk®️, focused on the drug semaglutide. In 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic and motherhood, she decided to dedicate herself solely to private clinics and embraced the Allure Clinic project (and later the Leg Clinic, dedicated to the treatment of lipedema among other pathologies in the field of Vascular Surgery), as well as the Uffizi Clinic project (a clinic initially focused on aesthetic health, but which rapidly grew into a clinic also focused on physical and mental health).

In her years of private practice, she became aware of the lack of understanding, respect, compassion and empathy towards patients living with obesity and began her journey, carving her path in this field. In January 2018, she was co-author of the guidelines on pregnancy after bariatric surgery and sought specific knowledge in the area of obesity, completing the Harvard Obesity Course in 2019 (Harvard Medical School – The Blackburn Course in Obesity Medicine and Obesity Medicine Board Review).

In July 2021, she published her first book, “From XL to S”, a metaphorical title referring to the journey of weight loss (and not focusing on or suggesting ideal sizes that do not really exist). The book aims to serve as a guide on this journey, offering tips to help with healthy weight loss but, most importantly, with its maintenance in a safe and healthy way.

Consistently committed to scientific excellence and to providing her patients the highest standard of care, has continuously pursued advanced training in the field of obesity. In 2022, completed the Advanced Obesity Management Program (AOMP) with Obesity Canada. In 2023 and 2024, successfully concluded the Canadian Advanced Learning in Bariatric Care (CALIBRE) programs (Cohorts 3 and 6, respectively), as well as the EASO MasterClass 2024 and the Lifestyle Medicine program at Harvard Medical School (2024).

Alongside this path, undertook additional certifications and developed new projects, always guided by her core values: respect, empathy, individualized care, education, and health promotion. These principles were reflected in the Healthy Weight Department at Allure Clinic and the Lifestyle Medicine consultation at Uffizi Clinic.

In 2025, Joana launched a new and deeply personal project: Clínica Médica Dr.ª Joana Menezes, a medical clinic founded on the belief that all patients deserve care free from prejudice and stigma, firmly grounded in the best and most up-to-date scientific evidence. A space where medicine is practiced with respect, empathy, and without judgment, with a strong focus on improving physical, mental, and sexual health, as well as overall quality of life. She strongly believes that aging should be as natural and healthy as possible, and her vision is firmly oriented towards the future and preventive medicine, Medicine 3.0, and Biohacking.

In the same year, 2025, expanded her clinical expertise by completing three additional courses at Harvard Medical School:

• Women’s Health and Menopause
• Female Sexual Wellness: Identifying Concerns and Treatment Options
• Testosterone Therapy and Sexual Dysfunction

Further strengthening her commitment to providing evidence-based, rigorous, and comprehensive hormonal and sexual health care while actively dismantling long-standing taboos.

Beyond her academic and scientific career, she is frequently invited for interviews in magazines and newspapers, participates in television programs, and lends her voice to several podcasts. She is also a regular guest on Instagram live sessions, television and radio programs, and is invited to speak at scientific meetings and lectures by peers from other medical specialties. She firmly believes that educating fellow professionals and improving health literacy are central to her life mission. In this spirit, she launched Portugal’s first internationally recognized course by Obesity Canada in 2025, and 2026 will bring several new and innovative projects.

Through all these scientific years, she has dedicated herself to clinical investigation: she completed a postgraduate course in clinical investigation and health services in 2009 (final grade 17/20), participated in national clinical trials (HIPOS-ER and the study group of Generation XXI of the Institute of Public Health – University of Porto) and international clinical trials (ELIXA-EFC11319; STEP4), reviewed papers published in the Portuguese indexed (PubMed/Medline) journal Acta Médica Portuguesa and was a member of the editorial board of JCEM Case Reports (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism from the Endocrine Society).