Larissa Avilés-Santa, M.D., M.P.H.
Director
Division of Clinical and Health Services Research
avilessantal@nih.gov
301-827-6924
Dr. Larissa Avilés-Santa is the director of Clinical and Health Services Research at NIMHD. In her current role, she works with the CHSR team on fostering research aimed at improving health outcomes of populations experiencing health disparities. This may be accomplished through research designed to understand most effective preventive and clinical care practices within healthcare settings, while also informing population health, health policy and public policy experts.
Prior to joining NIMHD, she worked at the NHLBI as the project director for the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos since it began on October 1, 2006. In addition, Dr. Avilés-Santa has participated in multiple NIH-wide committees and working groups addressing minority health, diabetes mellitus and its complications, women’s health, and vascular dementia. In 2015, she founded the NIH Hispanic Health Research Scientific Interest Group. In 2017, Dr. Avilés-Santa was the field coordinator of the post-disaster recovery of the health and social services of the entire country of Puerto Rico during the first six and a half months of work coordinated by the HHS ASPR, Recovery Division, impacting 3.4 million human lives.
Dr. Avilés-Santa earned her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University Hospital in San Juan and a fellowship in endocrinology at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center. As a faculty member of the Endocrine Division at UT Southwestern she worked in clinical research, teaching, and direct patient care. She also earned a Master’s degree at the UT School of Public Health.
Selected Publications
- Doose, M., Camargo, M.C., Artiles, L., Johnson, J.A., Das, R., Sidhu, S.K., Solís-Sanabria, C., Pérez-Stable, E.J., Avilés-Santa, M.L., (2023, April). Synergizing health research on non-communicable diseases among U.S. Hispanic/Latino and Latin American populations across the Hemisphere, The Lancet Regional Health – Americas. 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2023.100479
- Mensah GA, Cooper RS, Siega-Riz AM, et. al., (2018) Reducing Cardiovascular Disparities Through Community-Engaged Implementation Research: A National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Workshop Report. Circulation Research 122 (2): 213-230, doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA 117.312243
- Avilés-Santa L, Colón-Ramos U, Lindberg NM, et. al., (2017). From Sea to Shining Sea and the Great Plains to Patagonia: A Review on Current Knowledge of Diabetes Mellitus in Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America. Frontiers in Endocrinology 8: 298 doi: 10.3389/fendo.2017.00298
- Qi Q, Stilp AM, Sofer T, Moon JY, et. al., (2017) Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes in U.S. Hispanic/Latino Individuals: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Diabetes 66(5): 1419-1425 doi.10.2337/db16-1150
- Avilés-Santa L, Pérez CM, Schneiderman N, et. al., (2017) Detecting prediabetes among Hispanics/Latinos from diverse heritage groups: Does the test matter? Findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Preventive Medicine 95: 110-118, doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.12.009
- Klein OL, A., Avilés-Santa L, Cai J, et. al., (2016) Hispanics/Latinos With Type 2 Diabetes Have Functional and Symptomatic Pulmonary Impairment Mirroring Kidney Microangiopathy: Findings From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Diabetes Care 39 (11): 2051-2057.
Page updated Jan. 12, 2024
