Principal Investigator
Denise Diaz Payán, PhD, MPP, is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Health, Society, and Behavior at UC Irvine. She is the founder and principal investigator of the Community Health & Innovative Policy (CHIP) Lab. Dr. Payán obtained a PhD in Public Policy and Management from USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School. She received a BA in History and Science, Certificate in Health Policy, and Citation in Spanish from Harvard College. She was a Health Services Research postdoctoral scholar in the Dept. of Health Policy and Management at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the RAND Corporation (2015-2017) and tenure-track faculty at UC Merced (2017-2021).
Postdoctoral Scholar
Ana Herrera, PhD, MPH, is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Public Health at UC Irvine. She is a mixed-methods health disparities researcher, with over 12 years of experience working with government, philanthropic, and non-profit organizations to examine the multigenerational impact of interdisciplinary coalition initiatives on family health and wellbeing. In the CHIP Lab, she focus on policy implementation research with the desired goal that findings will contribute to our understanding of how policy impacts can promote health and reduce inequities. She earned her PhD in Health Behavior and Health Education from The University of Texas at Austin and an MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health. She received a BA in Psychology and Latino Studies from CSULB. Dr. Herrera is also an alum of the CDC Public Health Scholars Program and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars Program. In her spare time, Ana enjoys reading, baking, and traveling the world.
Graduate Student Researcher/s
Kesia Garibay is a Public Health PhD student at UC Merced. She received a B.A. in Public Health from UC Merced. Her research interests include the impact of health policy on underserved communities and understanding how policy addresses health disparities. She is currently working to develop a state obesity policy database with the CHIP Lab. Kesia is the 2020 recipient of the Future History Makers Award from Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE).
Tessa Pulido, MPH, CPH is a PhD student in Public Health at UC Irvine. She completed her B.A. in Public Health Policy and Education Sciences, and her Master’s in Public Health (MPH) at UC Irvine. Her research examines the impact of gentrification on food insecurity using a structural determinants of health perspective. She is currently an Environmental Racism and Health Equity fellow through the Center of Environmental Health Disparities at UCI where she receives funding to examine ways to improve the implementation of an existing food distribution at a church in South Los Angeles.
Ethan Nguyen is an MPH student concentrating in epidemiology at UC Irvine. Ethan graduated with a major in Public Health Sciences and a minor in Medical Humanities from UC Irvine. His interests include drug use, epidemiology, public health policy, and the importance of the humanities in medicine. He is also a driver for the Anteater Express. In the CHIP lab, he is working on a flavor ban tobacco policy implementation study.
Kalani Phillips, MPH, CPH is a PhD student in Public Health at UC Irvine. She completed both her B.A. in Public Health Policy and Master’s in Public Health (MPH) at UC Irvine. She is currently investigating the structural barriers that young people face when accessing medication abortion, and the reasons that certain individuals choose telehealth in order to obtain an abortion. She is also researching policies and resources for survivors of sexual violence and assault on UC campuses. In the CHIP lab, she is helping to conduct a nutrition environment assessment of food pantries in Orange County, CA.
Grace Lee is an MD candidate at UC Irvine. She grew up in Fullerton and received a B.S. in Biology from UCLA. Grace previously worked in census, basic needs, and COVID-19 relief outreach at an immigrant workers alliance in Los Angeles. She also worked with UCI faculty to conduct health disparity community-based participatory research alongside immigrant communities across Orange County. Her research interests center on how diverse sociocultural factors impact community and individual health. In the CHIP lab, she is working on a nutrition environment assessment of Orange County food pantries.
Undergraduate Student Research Assistant/s
Kemberly Aguilar is majoring in Public Health with a minor in Health Informatics and Medical Anthropology. Her career goal is to become a public health nurse and help low-income communities access equitable healthcare. Kemberly is part of the inaugural cohort of the UC PRIME Pre-Health Pathways (UCPPP) program.
Hannah Yacoub is majoring in Public Health Sciences with a minor in Health Informatics at UCI. Her interests include the intersection of technology and health care to enhance the efficiency of the health care system. In the CHIP Lab, she will help update a flavor ban tobacco policy database and assist with tobacco policy literature reviews. Hannah hopes to attend graduate school to pursue her MHA.
Elyza Puerto is majoring in B.S. Psychology with a minor in Public Health. Her interests include substance use, behavioral health, and the importance of mental health. She hopes to pursue a career as a clinical or health psychologist in the future and is part of the inaugural cohort of the UC PRIME Pre-Health Pathways (UCPPP) program.
Zahra Amin is majoring in Public Health Policy and is part of UCI’s Public Health Honors Research Program. Zahra’s interests include nutrition equity, food choice and disease, poverty and low income status and health. She hopes to pursue a career to promote health and wellbeing and combat chronic disease and adverse health outcomes.
Nathalia Gomez is majoring in Public Health Policy with a minor in Health Informatics. She is part of the UCI Public Health Honors Research Program and Campuswide Honors Collegium. Her interests include behavioral health, health equity, public health policy, nutrition, and low-income disparities. Nathalia plans to pursue her MPH degree and work for a public health organization to promote health and wellbeing in vulnerable communities.
Kimberly Montanez is a fourth year Public Health student at UC Merced. She is working on a collaborative project with Dr. Irene Yen (UC Merced) and the CHIP Lab through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) – Learning Aligned Employment Program (LAEP). Kimberly intends to pursue an MPH and obtain a career that works closely with communities in the Central Valley.