Dr. María Luisa Zúñiga
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María Luisa Zúñiga, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Division of International Health and Cross-Cultural Medicine in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UCSD. She earned her Master’s degree in International Relations and Pacific Studies at UCSD in 1992 and completed her doctoral degree in Epidemiology in the UCSD-SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health in 1999. She is a behavioral epidemiologist whose research focus is on improving the health of Latino populations living with HIV/AIDS in the US-Mexico border region. Dr. Zúñiga applies principles of Community–Based Participatory Research to partner with community agencies in her research projects. Specific research topics on which she works include: HIV/AIDS stigma, health care access issues faced by persons newly immigrated to the United States, and health issues of persons living in the US-Mexico border region, including bi-national access to health care for Mexican-origin persons living with HIV. Dr. Zúñiga’s current work includes a study of barriers and facilitators to clinical trials recruitment in HIV+ Latinos in the US-Mexico border region, a prevention intervention study with HIV-positive persons in the UCSD Owen Clinic, and completion of a five-year descriptive study of health care access for Latinos living with HIV in the US-Mexico border. Dr. Zúñiga was recenly recognized by UCSD as a champion of diversity on the campus. Selected Publications: Elder, J, Broyles, S, Brennan, J., Zúñiga de Nuncio,ML, & Nader, P. (2005). Acculturation, Parent-child acculturation differential, and chronic disease risk factors in a Mexican American Population. Journal of Immigrant Health, 7(1):1-9. |