Albert J. Farias, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor (tenure-track) of Population and Public Health Sciences

Co-Director of the PhD Program in Epidemiology

PhD, Health Services Research, University of Washington School of Public Health

MPH, Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

BS, Biology, University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Farias is an expert in understanding the multilevel determinants of disparities in cancer care and outcomes. Combining his expertise in cancer epidemiology, health services research and health disparities, Dr. Farias employs a mixed-methods approach to research by combining qualitative in-depth interview/focus groups with large population-based data including SEER-CAHPS, SEER-Medicare, MEPS, NHIS, NCCDB. Dr. Farias values mentorship and training the next generation of cancer health disparities researchers.

Angel Arizpe, PhDc, MPH

PhD Student in Epidemiology

MPH, Epidemiology, California State University (CSU), Northridge

BS, Health Sciences, CSU, Dominguez Hills

Angel is a fourth year, PhD student researching the factors that contribute to unmet healthcare needs and variations in health outcomes based on nativity, using the NIH All of Us Cohort. His research interests lie in the areas of health disparities, cancer disparities, and health equity, with a particular focus on marginalized and ethnic minority communities. Through his work, he aims to contribute to the current knowledge that can inform the development of targeted interventions and policies to improve health equity and reduce disparities in these populations.

Miriam Gorbatov, MPH

PhD Student in Epidemiology

MPH, Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles

BS, University of California, Los Angeles

Miriam is a second year PhD student in Epidemiology. She is interested in studying the drivers for disparities in colorectal cancer incidence. She has a particular interest in examining whether autoimmune diseases and their pharmaceutical management account for racial/ethnic disparities in colorectal cancer diagnosis and mortality. 

Cynthia Begay, PhDc, MPH

PhD Student, Health Behavior Research, Keck School of Medicine of USC

MPH, Health Behavior Research, Keck School of Medicine of USC

BS, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, USC

Cynthia Begay, PhD(c), MPH (Hopi/Navajo/Chicana) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. She is a longtime advocate for the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities to advance health equity and reduce health disparities. Guided by community-based participatory research methods, Cynthia has worked with Tribal communities in California, specifically in cancer control, mental health, and substance use, for over ten years. Her current work at USC focuses on utilizing a mixed-methods approach to examining cancer disparities among AIAN in California using the CA Cancer Registry. Her hope is to reevaluate and improve on small population methodologies, specifically among AIAN, through cancer registry data.

Stephanie Navarro, PhD

4th Year MD Student, Keck School of Medicine of USC

PhD, Epidemiology, Keck School of Medicine of USC

BA, Stanford University

Stephanie is studying associations between patient experiences with healthcare, patient race and ethnicity, and use of care among older adults with colorectal cancer and comorbid chronic conditions. She uses SEER-CAHPS data, which pairs national cancer registry data from the National Cancer Institute with Medicare patient experience survey data and Medicare claims files. As a future physician-scientist, Stephanie hopes to empower individual patients to achieve optimal health, while also working to understand the conditions which create inequitable health care and outcomes and formulating effective ways to promote health equity for all patients.

Katelyn (KJ) Queen, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles

PhD, Biostatistics, University of Southern California

BS, Mathematics, University of Utah

KJ’s dissertation work focuses on new statistical methodology for differential co-expression analyses with the goal of identifying regulatory mechanisms driving disease progression and symptomatology. Post-PhD, KJ is interested in being a staff statistician at a large research hospital, focusing on providing statistical support to clinicians in various fields.

Carol Dominguez-Ochoa, PhD, MPH

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Diego

PhD, Health Behavior Research, Keck School of Medicine of USC

MPH, Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University

BA, Latin American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Carol is a cancer health disparities researcher trained in behavioral science within public health. Broadly, her research experience has centered on three areas of focus: 1) cancer survivors, 2) informal caregivers, and 3) cancer screening. Within this work, she uses a mixed-method approach to explore whether there are any racial/ethnic differences, the role of social determinants, and specific cultural factors that may be related to these outcomes. She is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Association for Cancer Education, the American Society of Preventive Oncology, and the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Steven De La Torre, PhD, MPH

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Diego

MPH, Health Behavior Research, Keck School of Medicine of USC

BS, Health Promotion, California Polytechnic University, Pomona

Steven De La Torre, PhD, MPH, is a Mexican-American scholar and Doctoral Candidate at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. His work includes developing and testing dynamic models that provide insights into idiographic behavioral patterns of physical activity that span historically underrepresented populations and cancer survivors. His work ultimately aims to develop new dynamic modeling tools and theories that incorporate the unique needs of diverse populations and impact behavior in real time. He will continue his career as a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) Diversity and Google Health Equity Research Initiative (HERI) funded post-doctoral research fellow at the University of California, San Diego, in Spring of 2023.

Cynthia N. Ramirez, PhD, MPH

Postdoctoral Fellow, Kaiser Permanente of Northern California

PhD, Health Behavior Research, Keck School of Medicine of USC

MPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Keck School of Medicine of USC

BS, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, USC

Cynthia N. Ramirez, PhD, MPH is a postdoctoral fellow at Kaiser Permanente of Northern California. Cynthia’s dissertation built upon the research skills she has developed throughout her academic career by using mixed-methods approaches to better understand multilevel determinants of disparities among documented and undocumented safety-net emergency department patients. Cynthia is passionate about social justice and intends to dedicate her career to promoting inclusive and evidence-based programs and policies to reduce inequities among historically marginalized populations.