I am currently an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Director of the Division of Prevention Science and Community Health in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. My applied and basic research area focuses on the... Read more

I am currently an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Director of the Division of Prevention Science and Community Health in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. My applied and basic research area focuses on the prevention of substance use and HIV risk behavior health disparities among Hispanic youth as well as on the application of advanced statistical methodology to understand the socio-contextual determinants of health and the evaluation of behavioral health interventions for Hispanic adolescents. My program of research has been continuously funded by the NIH since the first year of my doctoral program. I am currently the PI or senior mentor of several substance abuse and HIV prevention studies totally approximately $10 million of NIH and CDC funding. One of these studies is a Stage III/effectiveness study of Familias Unidas [United Families in English], one of the few interventions found be efficacious in preventing/reducing substance use and HIV risk behaviors among Hispanic youth. I am also the Director of the Behavioral and Social Sciences and Community Outreach Core of the NIH funded Miami Center for AIDS Research. Additionally, I am on the leadership team of the NIH funded "Center for Prevention Implementation Methodology (Ce-PIM) for Drug Abuse and Sexual Risk Behavior." Ce-PIM's mission is to facilitate research on drug abuse and HIV prevention implementation through the development and application of innovative methods. My research has been recognized by numerous organizations, including the Society for Prevention Research, the Society for Research on Adolescence, and the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse. I was also selected by the Miami Herald as one of the Top 20 Business Leaders and Innovators in South Florida under the age of 40 for my research and community work in the areas of HIV and substance use health disparities. I am also a chartered member of the NIH study section "Community Level Health Promotion", an editorial member of several peer-reviewed journals, and on the Board of Directors of the Society for Prevention Research.

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