We are a diverse team of academic and community researchers representing different disciplines and stakeholders.
Somos un equipo diverso de investigadores académicos y comunitarios representando diferentes disciplinas e intereses.
Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, CPH, FAAN
Rosa M. Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, CPH, FAAN, is an Associate Professor at Duke University School of Nursing, the faculty lead for the Duke School of Nursing Center for Nursing Research Population Health Research Area of Excellence, and Co-Director of the Community Engagement Care of Duke's Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Her research focuses on describing the intersection of intimate partner violence, substance abuse, HIV and mental health among Latinos in the U.S. and the development of culturally-tailored interventions to address these. She is currently the principal investigator of a longitudinal study funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (1 R01MD012249-01) that will help identify the impact that acculturation stress and resilience have on biobehavioral and mental health outcomes among young adult Latino immigrants over time.
Irene Felsman, DNP, MPH, RN
Irene Felsman, DNP, MPH, RN, is an Assistant Professor at Duke University School of Nursing, with a focus in global and community health, where she teaches in the area of health promotion, wellness, community and global health. Felsman's expertise includes community engagement methods and the development of culturally aligned community interventions to improve health and access to care for women and children in diverse settings, both locally and globally.
Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, MPH
Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, MPH, is the President and CEO of El Centro Hispano, Inc. Her work includes providing direction and leadership, implementing strategic goals and objectives, and ensuring that the fiscal and legal responsibilities of El Centro Hispano are met. In addition, Rocha-Goldberg represents El Centro Hispano in the community and advocate for the Latino community.
Brian E. McCabe, PhD
Brian McCabe is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami. He earned his PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Miami. His program of research integrates extensive experience with family interventions and motivational interviewing to reduce substance use, mental disorders, and health disparities in young adults/college students.
Maralis Mercado Emerson, MPH
Maralis Mercado Emerson is a public health researcher and educator. She holds two master's degrees in Public Health and Christian Studies respectively and a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida. For over 15 years, Mercado Emerson has traveled the world learning from others and bringing it back to her community. She first began her journey in education, which opened doors for her to serve the community as an HIV advocate and service provider and then as a community organizer and researcher. Currently, Mercado Emerson serves as the Study Coordinator for the SER Hispano Project.
Angel Garcia Aristi, MD
Angel Garcia Aristi, MD, was born in Havana, Cuba. He received a Doctor of Medicine specializing in Anesthesiology and Resuscitation in 1994. He immigrated to the United States in 2017 and joined the SER Hispano Team in October 2018 as a Clinical Research Specialist.
Norma Garcia Ortiz
Norma Garcia Ortiz, originally from Mexico, graduated from Meredith College with a bachelor's degree double major in Biology and Economics. Currently she is a Clinical Research Specialist for the SER Hispano Study.
Rosa Solorzano, MD, MPH
Rosa Solorzano, MD, MPH, is a faculty member at the Duke University School of Nursing, Global Health Institute, as well as a faculty consultant and educator at the Duke School of Medicine. Solorzano provides opportunities for students to acquire foundation Spanish language skills to broaden their ability to provide culturally competent care to a diverse patient population.
Maria Solis-Guzman
Maria Solis-Guzman is the Recruitment Coordinator for SER Hispano. She works with the Latinx Community at El Centro Hispano as the Community Specialist and has worked in the past programs in recruitment for the Local Access to Coordinated Medical Care (LATCH), coordinating the Faith ID program and the Lead Organizer for the Non-Driver Licenses in Orange County program. She is a native of Mexico and has lived in Durham since 2000.
Gabriela Nagy, PhD
Gabriela Nagy is a Clinical Associate within Cognitive-Behavioral Research and Treatment Program at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. Her role is comprised of research, education, and clinical duties. Nagy received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee prior to moving to Duke.
Allison Stafford, PhD, RN
Allison Stafford, PhD, RN, is a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University School of Nursing. She is interested in conducting community-engaged research to promote mental health among Hispanic adolescents. Stafford joined the SER Hispano team as a data collector in August 2018.
Cyrus Victor Lacuesta
Cyrus Victor Lacuesta is a Research Tech II at Duke University School of Nursing. He obtained his BS degree in Biology at East Carolina University and BS degree in Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In his spare time, Lacuesta enjoys watching movies, trying new foods, and cooking.
Akhil Hegde, PhD
Akhil Hegde, PhD, manages multiple projects focusing on the pathways/mechanisms underlying allergic asthma in animal models. He also helps in the lab for SER Hispano.
Lilian Bravo, RN
Lilian Bravo, RN, is a PhD student at the University of North Carolina School of Nursing interested in behavioral health outcomes in Latinx adolescents. She is a registered nurse at UNC Hospital, where she works with children and adolescent psychiatry and eating disorder patients. She loves working with SER Hispano because of the amazing team, and knowing the work is going towards transforming health policy to improve outcomes for Latinx immigrants
Lisa Mansfield, MSN
Lisa Mansfield, MSN, is a Duke School of Nursing PhD student. She became interested in nursing research after attending various research conferences on health disparities while completing her undergraduate studies. In 2014, Mansfield was accepted into the Winston Salem State University - Duke University Nursing Bridge to the Doctorate program. As a Bridge scholar, she completed a master's thesis using secondary data analysis to examine the association between parental HPV knowledge, awareness and intentions to vaccinate their daughters. Mansfield plans to continue her work in HPV research with an interest in exploring factors hindering adolescent girls from completing the HPV vaccine series.
Vanessa Curlee
Vanessa Curlee is a PhD student at Duke University School of Nursing. Her research focuses on behavioral health in justice-involved individuals and she is interested in the promotion of translational and implementational science to address health disparities and improved health equity. She is honored to be a member of the SER Hispano study and the contribution to advancing the research on Hispanic/Latinx immigrant health.
Jewel Scott
Jewel Scott is a PhD student at the Duke University School of Nursing where she is researching cardiometabolic health disparities in women of color. In her dissertation, she will explore factors that build resilience to the cumulative effects of stress on cardiovascular health. She hopes that her research will help individuals and communities to identify ways to support each other in building stronger and healthier communities.
Yessica Garcia Rodriguez
Yessica Garcia Rodriguez was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela. She attended Northeastern University where she obtained a B.S. in Health Sciences. She moved to Durham in 2017 to pursue a degree in nursing at Duke. She is currently working as a Clinical Nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at UNC Hospital.
Miriam Quizhpilema Rodriguez
Miriam Quizhpilema Rodriguez is a current ABSN student at the Duke University School of Nursing and President of the DUSON Research Club. She was born and raised in Cañar, Ecuador. Rodriguez holds a BA in International Studies with a second major in Romance Languages from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rodriguez has over six years of experience working with the Latinx community as an Immigration Paralegal and Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocate. In August 2018, she was recognized as the Student of the Year by Premios Latinos NC.