Fabio Porru
Scientific Researcher
Research group
Occupational health
My research is focused on is on public mental health. With my PhD project, I am investigating the determinants of mental health with a life-course approach from an occupational perspective, with particular attention to university students.
I graduated in Medicine and Surgery with a thesis on psychosocial determinants of psychological distress among university students.
I do not want my work to get stuck in academia, and I truly look forward to having a social impact with it. This is why I am also devoted to the dissemination of science in the community, and I actively try to promote research and science among students and young professionals.
I am truly interested in social causes such as the refugees’ crisis, climate-changing, and gender inequalities.
Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC
Doctor Molewaterplein 40,
3015 GD, Rotterdam
the Netherlands
Since years I have been using the internet to raise awareness on mental health and to disseminate scientific knowledge in the general population. Moreover, I use social media to orientate students interested in pursuing a career in scientific research.
Publications list
Most relevant publications
Mental health among university students: the associations of effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment with psychological distress
Journal of Affective Disorders
The impact of depressive symptoms on exit from paid employment in Europe: a longitudinal study with 4 years follow-up
European Jorunal of Public Health
Stress among university students: factorial structure and measurement invariance of the Italian version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance student questionnaire
BMC Psychology
The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic: consequences for occupational health
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health
Stress among medical students: factor structure of the University Stress Scale among Italian students
BMJ Open
Measuring Burnout Among University Students: Factorial Validity, Invariance, and Latent Profiles of the Italian Version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS)
Frontiers in Psychology
Within the University Cares (UniCares) project, my team has validated multiple tools in order to investigate mental health among Italian university students.
- Maslach Burnout Inventory – Student Setting (MBI-SS)
- Effort-Reward Imbalance – Student Questionnaire (ERI-SQ)
- University Stress Scale – Short (USS-S)
I have been working as a teaching assistant for three courses organized by the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences (NIHES):
- Public Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, by Prof. Alex Burdorf
- Methods in public health research, by Prof. Alex Burdorf
- Social epidemiology, by Prof. Frank van Lenthe
My tasks included the development of the course in order to increase students’ engagement by increasing interaction, providing feedback to students, technical support, and moderation of the discussion.
Eager to improve my teaching skills and willing to get into teaching, I supervised a medical student and a psychology student in the development of their master thesis and advised many others.