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 minor with a focus on public health and social determinants of health 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.
Her research focuses on health disparities and social determinants of health in underserved communities, in particular cardiovascular related health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes, and the health of immigrant communities. 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.