Aresha Martinez-Cardoso | Public Health Sciences

Research Summary

Aresha Martinez-Cardoso is an interdisciplinary public health researcher and Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences. Her research integrates theoretical perspectives from the social sciences with epidemiological methods in public health to examine how social inequality in the US shapes population health, with a particular focus on the health of racial/ethnic groups and immigrants. Martinez-Cardoso's work interrogates how race and social inequities have been deeply embedded into our nation’s culture and institutions and traces the biosocial mechanisms by which these inequities get “under the skin” to affect health across the lifecourse. Currently, Dr Martinez-Cardoso's research agenda is guided by three major lines of inquiry (1) conceptualizing structural racism and its impact on health (2) studying the biopsychosocial mechanisms by which lifecourse conditions shape health, and (3) empirically measuring the links between social inequities and health using diverse data sources. Martinez-Cardoso holds a PhD in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan, and a MS in Community Health Sciences from UCLA.

Keywords

Racial Health Inequities, Migration, Race, Health Status, Latinos, Immigration and Emigration, Social Discrimination, Racism, Aging, Demographic, Demographic and Health Surveys

Education

University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, PhD Health Behavior and Health Education 2018
University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, MS Community Health Sciences 2013
University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, BA Latin American Studies 2010

Biosciences Graduate Program Association

Public Health Sciences

Awards & Honors

2019 - 2021 National Institute of Health Loan Repayment Program National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities

Publications

The role of smoking history in longitudinal changes in C-reactive protein between Black and White older adults in the US. Prev Med Rep. 2022 Aug; 28:101885. View in: PubMed
Assessment of Structural Barriers and Racial Group Disparities of COVID-19 Mortality With Spatial Analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 03 01; 5(3):e220984. View in: PubMed
The Weight of Migration: Reconsidering Health Selection and Return Migration among Mexicans. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 11 19; 18(22). View in: PubMed
Coming up short: Comparing venous blood, dried blood spots & saliva samples for measuring telomere length in health equity research. PLoS One. 2021; 16(8):e0255237. View in: PubMed
Moving Diabetes Upstream: the Social Determinants of Diabetes Management and Control Among Immigrants in the US. Curr Diab Rep. 2020 08 28; 20(10):48. View in: PubMed
Change in birth outcomes among infants born to Latina mothers after a major immigration raid. Int J Epidemiol. 2017 06 01; 46(3):839-849. View in: PubMed
Redressing the limitations of the Affordable Care Act for Mexican immigrants through bi-national health insurance: a willingness to pay study in Los Angeles. J Immigr Minor Health. 2014 Apr; 16(2):179-88. View in: PubMed