Lorena Garcia, M.P.H., Dr.P.H.
Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences
Director, Undergraduate Education
Specialties
Public Health Sciences-Division of Epidemiology
Department
Locations and Contact
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Lorena Garcia is a Professor of Epidemiology at the UC Davis School of Medicine. In the Department of Public Health Sciences, Dr. Garcia is the Director of Undergraduate Education where she is leading a public health sciences minor that she developed with a focus on social and environmental determinants for students interested in pursuing careers in the health professions.
Previously, Dr. Garcia served as the Chair of the Graduate Group in Epidemiology (GGE) from 2017-2020. The GGE is a professional degree program housed in the school of Veterinary Medicine that prepares graduate students in methodologic approaches to examining human and animal health. This Ph.D. and MS program trains graduate students in the principles and practice of epidemiology with an emphasis on quantitative analytic methods, and mentor’s trainees in the clinical and population application of epidemiologic methods.
Dr. Garcia’s research focuses on the social and environmental determinants in the health of older adults, with particular cardiovascular-related health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes. She is also engaged in research related to caregiving, TOPMed, and the application of artificial intelligence, large language models, and machine learning in health research. Dr. Garcia received her doctorate in public health from the Department of Epidemiology at UCLA and a master’s degree in public health from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Boston University.
Division
Epidemiology
Undergraduate School
B.A., California State University-Long Beach, Long Beach CA 1992
Other School
M.P.H., Epidemiology/Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston MA 1995
Other School
Dr.P.H., Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles CA 2002
Fellowship
Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR-UC Davis), UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento CA 2012-2014
Fellowship
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento CA 2007-2012
Academic Senate Research Travel Award, Society for Epidemiologic Research, 2024,
American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Mid-career Fellowship, 2018,
Faculty Leadership Academy, 2016,
SACNAS Summer Leadership Institute, 2018,
Travel Grant Recipient, National Institute of Public Health, 2008,
Wende ME, Lohman MC, Friedman DB, McLain AC, Whitsel EA, Crandall CJ, Cauley JA, Allison M, Shadyab AH, Sealy-Jefferson S, Garcia L, Cannell MB, Kaczynski AT. How neighborhood socioeconomic status, green space, and walkability are associated with risk for fracture among postmenopausal women. JBMR Plus. 2025 May;9(5):ziaf024. doi: 10.1093/jbmrpl/ziaf024. eCollection 2025 May. PubMed PMID: 40176948; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11961067.
Rosas CE, Nguyen S, Shadyab AH, Stickel AM, Sealy-Jefferson S, Naughton MJ, Garcia L, Gallo LC, LaCroix AZ. Prospective association of depression symptoms with exceptional longevity among older women. Geroscience. 2025 Apr 16;. doi: 10.1007/s11357-025-01659-w. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 40234341.
Li J, Bea JW, LaMonte M, Jiang L, Reding K, Garcia L, Manson JAE, Follis S, Odegaard AO. Effects of moderate/vigorous activity on 3-year body composition changes in postmenopausal women: a target trial emulation. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Apr 8;194(4):1032-1042. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwae190. PubMed PMID: 38992341.
Wang F, Simon MS, Kroenke CH, Krok-Schoen J, Jung SY, Chlebowski R, Ballinger TJ, Pichardo MS, Coday M, Garcia L, Luo J. Social Support, Social Strain, Stressful Life Events and Mortality Among Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer. Psychooncology. 2024 Nov;33(11):e70013. doi: 10.1002/pon.70013. PubMed PMID: 39520665.
LeBlanc ES, Zhang S, Hedlin H, Clarke G, Smith N, Garcia L, Hale L, Hery CB, Liu S, Ochs-Balcom H, Phillips L, Shadyab AH, Stefanick M. Sleep Characteristics are Associated with Risk of Treated Diabetes Among Postmenopausal Women. Am J Med. 2024 Apr;137(4):331-340. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.12.011. Epub 2023 Dec 19. PubMed PMID: 38128859; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11141584.
Haring B, McGinn AP, Kamensky V, Allison M, Stefanick ML, Schnatz PF, Kuller LH, Berger JS, Johnson KC, Saquib N, Garcia L, Richey PA, Manson JE, Alderman M, Wassertheil-Smoller S. Low Diastolic Blood Pressure and Mortality in Older Women. Results From the Women's Health Initiative Long Life Study. Am J Hypertens. 2022 Sep 1;35(9):795-802. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpac056. PubMed PMID: 35522983; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9434234.
Ako AA, Michael YL, Robinson LF, Wactawski-Wende J, Shadyab AH, Garcia L, Nriagu BN, Saquib N, Nassir R, Liu S, Wallace RB. Gallbladder Disease and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Postmenopausal Women: A Women's Health Initiative Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2022 Jul 23;191(8):1374-1382. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwac074. PubMed PMID: 35434732; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9989352.
Banack HR, Bea JW, Stokes A, Kroenke CH, Stefanick ML, Beresford SA, Bird CE, Garcia L, Wallace R, Wild RA, Caan B, Wactawski-Wende J. It's Absolutely Relative: The Effect of Age on the BMI-Mortality Relationship in Postmenopausal Women. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2020 Jan;28(1):171-177. doi:10.1002/oby.22662. Epub 2019 Dec 4. PMID:31799808.
Hedlin H, Weitlauf J, Crandall CJ, Nassir R, Cauley JA, Garcia L, Brunner R, Robinson J, Stefanick ML, Robbins J. Development of a comprehensive health-risk prediction tool for postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2019 Dec;26(12):1385-1394. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000001411. PMID:31567871.
Banack HR, Bea JW, Kaufman JS, Stokes A, Kroenke CH, Stefanick ML, Beresford SA, Bird CE, Garcia L, Wallace R, Wild RA, Caan B, Wactawski-Wende J. The Effects of Reverse Causality and Selective Attrition on the Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Mortality in Postmenopausal Women. Am J Epidemiol. 2019 Oct 1;188(10):1838-1848. doi:10.1093/aje/kwz160. PMID:31274146.