I Create Translational Digital Health Tools To Ensure Clinical Excellence
My research focuses on opportunities at the intersection of novel digital medicine technologies and unmet needs in maternal fetal health as well as pain and palliative medicine. As the Health Equity Lead for the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation at UC San Diego, I am working in real-time to create clinical translational tools to improve the care of minoritized and marginalized communities of patients.
I am the PI for the PowerMom Research program at Scripps Research Translational Institute where I work to increase participation of pregnant women and their newborn in clinical research and further investigate how mobile health can provide real time, patient reported outcomes that can be rapidly integrated into individualized clinical plans to improve health related quality of life. A large part of health discrepancies for pregnant people is not included in research in general. Add the demographic of people with color and the statistics will increase significantly. My innovative PowerMom platform is an avenue to meet participants where they are, build community, and share information with them.
With all of my research efforts, I hope to diversify the standard of care provided to pregnant women and augment how we manage the symptoms prevalent in serious illness, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of clinical care, decreasing patient distress, maximize patient empowerment, and ensure equity across the spectrum.
Scripps Research has called me "A rising star in healthcare equity" and, in 2023, my work was recognized by the American Society For Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics when I became the inaugural winner of their Dolores Shockley Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Research Awardto recognize individuals who contribute to greater diversity and inclusion practices in clinical research, so all potential patient populations benefit from the research. The San Diego Business Journal also honored me in 2023 as a Leader of Influence in Life Sciences for my team's work with PowerMom.
As a mom, and someone who was going through my second pregnancy during the pandemic, I know how scary it can be to not have the information we need due to the lack of research inclusion of pregnant people.
