Volume 2, Issue 2May 2009
El Faro Staff
Liliane Cambraia Windsor, Ph.D., M.S.W., Editor
Sheila Kaupert,
Newsletter Coordinator
National Office
Jane Brooks, M.Sc., C.M.P.
Website Coordinator
National Steering Committee
José Szapocznik, Ph.D., NHSN Chair
Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D.
Hortensia Amaro, Ph.D.
Ana Mari Cauce, Ph.D.
Joe Martínez, Ph.D.
Patricia Molina, M.D., Ph.D.
Humberto Nicolini-Sanchez, M.D., Ph.D.
Bryan Page, Ph.D.
Rafaela Robles, Ed.D.
Avelardo Valdez, Ph.D.
Bill Vega, Ph.D.
Current Issue
Mildred's Journey
My journey as a scientist started early during my undergraduate education. During my undergraduate training at the University of Puerto Rico, where I graduated in 1999 with B.A. in Psychology, I participated in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Career Opportunities in Research (COR) Program and actively conducted research at the Center for Psychological Services and Research, under the supervision of Dr. Guillermo Bernal. Dr. Bernal and Dr. Ana Alvarez guided me to discover my passion for research methods and statistics applied to the study of human behavior, particularly among adolescents. To pursue graduate education, I moved to State College, Pennsylvania. What a cultural shock!
With a strong interest in research emerging from my undergraduate work, I pursued M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) from Penn State University, with a minor in Statistics and a specialization in research methods. As a member of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Center for Prevention Methodology and under the supervision of Dr. Linda M. Collins, my graduate training focused on the development and application of advanced statistical methods to drug use prevention among adolescents. One important lesson I learned from my graduate mentor was to “always work on the goal closer to completion”. This lesson guided the completion of my graduate work. As a doctoral candidate, I also received a Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) entitled “Modeling risk of drug abuse with an expanded latent transition analysis procedure”. In this project, I investigated drug-use patterns of progression among adolescents using advanced statistical tools (i.e. latent transition analyses) to handle longitudinal data. By examining sequential patterns of substance use among adolescents, I developed a strong interest in understanding the effects of alcohol use in the development of substance use. During this time, Dr. Bernal (my undergraduate mentor) introduced me to NHSN. While attending a mentoring luncheon at NHSN, I met Dr. Glorisa Canino and we developed a wonderful mentoring relationship. She not only provided the opportunity to utilize data from her study of adolescents in Puerto Rico for my dissertation work but she also provided mentoring in my transition from graduate school to faculty professor.
In 2005, I joined the University of Florida (UF), College of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research and faculty member in the Institute for Child Health Policy. My research on alcohol use prevention focuses on: (1) examining patterns of underage drinking over time; (2) evaluating outcomes of comprehensive school and community prevention programs targeting teen drinking; and (3) testing effects of state and community alcohol policies on behavioral and health outcomes. My research on health disparities in alcohol and drug use focuses on: (1) investigating differences in trajectories of alcohol and drug use by ethnicity and gender subgroups; and (2) investigating patterns of alcohol use and alcohol-related behaviors among Hispanic youth in the United States. Attending NHSN’s scientific meetings have provided an opportunity to develop and strengthen relationships with colleagues and mentors, including Drs. Canino, Komro, Muller, Tobler, Pantin, Prado, and Wagenaar. I truly enjoy working with them and other leading scientists in the field of alcohol and drug use prevention. Recently, I was awarded a K01 project from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism entitled “Alcohol Contextual Influences: Health Disparities and Mortality”. The purpose of this project is to examine the effects of context and environment (e.g. availability of alcohol, alcohol policies) on behavioral and mortality outcomes. My current research interests focus on the effects of context and environment (e.g. availability of alcohol, alcohol policies) on behavioral and mortality outcomes, and going beyond individual-level studies to neighborhood, community, state and nation. Understanding where theories and factors that influence alcohol use and consequences apply across groups and where they diverge will facilitate future research on ways to reduce disparities and enhance health across sub-groups in the United States.
As I reflect upon my career trajectory, three considerations can summarize my scientific journey: (1) seek and take the time to build relationships with multiple mentors who value the importance of training a new generation of scientists; (2) identify colleagues with whom you can develop productive research teams and conduct relevant scientific research; and (3) it is important and necessary to “step out of our comfort zone”. I feel fortunate and blessed of having the opportunity to work and learn from great mentors and colleagues; and I look forward to continue developing a research program to reduce health disparities in rates of underage drinking and evaluate the effects of public policies to reduce alcohol-related and alcohol-caused mortality outcomes in the United States.