Lorena Garcia, M.P.H., Dr.P.H.
Specialties
Public Health Sciences-Division of Epidemiology
Department
Title
- Professor
- Director, Undergraduate Education
- Chair, Graduate Group in Epidemiology
Reviews
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Lorena Garcia is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Chair of the Graduate Group in Epidemiology (GGE). At the university level, 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.
In the Department of Public Health Sciences, Dr. Garcia is the Director of Undergraduate Education where she is leading a new minor with a focus on public health and social determinants of health. At the Latino Aging Research Resource Center (LARRC) funded by the National Institute of Aging, Dr. Garcia is the Director of the Community Liaison Core which supports LARRC’s overall mission through community engagement and partnerships.
Her research focuses on health disparities and social determinants of health, in particular, cardiovascular-related health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes, and immigrant health in the Latino community. 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
Education
Dr.P.H., Epidemiology, UCLA, Los Angeles CA 2002
M.P.H., Epidemiology/Bio Statistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston MA 1995
B.A., California State University-Long Beach, Long Beach CA 1992
Fellowships
Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR-UC Davis), UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento CA 2012-2014
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women�s Health, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento CA 2007-2012
Professional Memberships
American Association for Advancement of Science
American Public Health Association
Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science
Society for Epidemiologic Research
Honors and Awards
American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) MidCareer Fellowship. Selected by AAMC and nominated by UC Davis School of Medicine, 2018
Faculty Leadership Academy. Selected by UCD Academic Affairs, nominated by UC Davis School of Medicine, 2016
SACNAS Summer Leadership Institute. Competitive Selection by SACNAS, AAAS, and Stanford University. Menlo Park, California, 2018
Travel Grant Recipient. Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence among a sample of US-born versus foreign-born Latinas. 9th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. Sponsored by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Mexico, 2008
Student Award. Epidemiology Section, Congress of Epidemiology, 2001
Public Health Traineeship Award. Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, 1998
Select Recent Publications
Palumbo AJ, De Roos AJ, Cannuscio C, Robinson L, Mossey J, Weitlauf J, Garcia L, Wallace R, Michael Y. Work Characteristics Associated with Physical Functioning in Women. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2017;14.
Mongraw-Chaffin M, LaCroix AZ, Sears DD, Garcia L, Phillips LS, Salmoirago-Blotcher E, Zaslavsky O, Anderson CA. A prospective study of low fasting glucose with cardiovascular disease events and all-cause mortality: The Women's Health Initiative. Metabolism: clinical and experimental. 2017;70:116-24.
Garcia L, Lee A, Zeki Al Hazzouri A, Neuhaus JM, Moyce S, Aiello A, Elfassy T, Haan MN. Influence of neighborhood socioeconomic position on the transition to type II diabetes in older Mexican Americans: The Sacramento Area Longitudinal Study on Aging. BMJ Open. 2016
Cespedes EM, Hu FB, Tinker L, Rosner B, Redline S, Garcia L, Hingle M, Van Horn L, Howard BV, Levitan EB, Li W, Manson JE, Phillips LS, Rhee JJ, Waring ME, Neuhouser ML. Multiple Healthful Dietary Patterns and Type 2 Diabetes in the Women's Health Initiative. Am J Epidemiol. 2016;183:622-33.
Sriram U, LaCroix AZ, Barrington WE, Corbie-Smith G, Garcia L, Going SB, LaMonte MJ, Manson JE, Sealy-Jefferson S, Stefanick ML, Waring ME, Seguin RA. Neighborhood Walkability and Adiposity in the Women's Health Initiative Cohort. Am J Prev Med. 2016.
Cene CW, Dilworth-Anderson P, Leng I, Garcia L, Benavente V, Rosal M, Vaughan L, Coker LH, Corbie-Smith G, Kim M, Bell CL, Robinson JG, Manson JE, Cochrane B. Correlates of Successful Aging in Racial and Ethnic Minority Women Age 80 Years and Older: Findings from the Women's Health Initiative. The journals of gerontology Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2016;71 Suppl 1:S87-99.
Santiago-Torres M, Tinker LF, Allison MA, Breymeyer KL, Garcia L, Kroenke CH, Lampe JW, Shikany JM, Van Horn L, Neuhouser ML. Development and Use of a Traditional Mexican Diet Score in Relation to Systemic Inflammation and Insulin Resistance among Women of Mexican Descent. J Nutr. 2015 Dec;145(12):2732-40.
Gangwisch JE, Hale L, Garcia L, Malaspina D, Opler MG, Payne ME, Rossom RC, Lane D. High glycemic index diet as a risk factor for depression: analyses from the Women's Health Initiative. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015.
Garcia L, Lee A, Zeki Al Hazzouri A, Neuhaus J, Epstein M, Haan M. The Impact of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Position on Prevalence of Diabetes and Prediabetes in Older Latinos: The Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging. Hisp Health Care Int. 2015;13:77-85.
Pedersen JM, Budtz-Jorgensen E, De Roos A, Garcia L, Lund R, Rod NH, Kroenke C, Chan KHK, Liu S, Michael Y. Understanding the relation between socioeconomic position and inflammation in post-menopausal women: education, income, and educational prestige. Eur J Public Health. 27(6):1074-1079.