Bio
Dean Ribeiro serves as Dean of Learning Data & Innovation at Minerva, where she leads the Data Hub in advancing evidence-based academic strategy. In this role, she oversees the development of measures and trackers for student success—aligned with compliance and accreditation requirements—and acts as a key liaison between the teaching platform provider, internal engineering teams, and academic leadership. Her work ensures that data is not only a tool for monitoring outcomes, but a driver of innovation in curriculum design, assessment practices, and student achievement.Building upon her career in academia as a cosmologist and in industry as a data scientist, Dean Ribeiro holds a Ph.D. and a MASt from the University of Cambridge. She has conducted formal research on modified gravity theories applied to dark energy and the physics of the Big Bang.
Throughout her career, Dean Ribeiro’s passion for teaching, mentoring, and analytical rigor has fueled her dedication to fostering inquisitive minds and constructive discourse. Whether in the classroom, in research, or leading data science teams in startups, she has consistently applied data-driven insights to empower learning and innovation.
Accomplishments
- Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics and Master of Advanced Study in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge; BSc in Physics from the University of Porto
- Postdoctoral research at Case Western Reserve University and Queen Mary University of London
- 20+ peer-reviewed publications on the physics of the early universe and modified gravity, counting over 1,300 citations, with an h-index=18
- Recipient of Prizes Almeida & Araújo and Meyer Scholarship & Jackson Prize for academic excellence in BSc and MASt
- Awarded Ph.D. fellowship by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology
- Machine learning work in data science featured in Wired Magazine
- Co-authored “Active Learning and Integrated Assessment: Minerva’s Approach to Teaching Future Skills” published in Springer Nature
- Co-authored "Active Learning Is a Balancing Act" published on Harvard Business Impact Education, as part of the Inspiring Minds rubric and featured in the Faculty Lounge newsletter