Dr. Ana Abraido-Lanza

Ana F. Abraído-Lanza received her Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology with a concentration in Health Psychology from the Graduate School of the City University of New York in 1994. She completed a post-doctoral training fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia. In 2006, Dr. Abraído-Lanza made history in Columbia University as the first Hispanic faculty member ever to be granted tenure at the Mailman School. Her research focuses on cultural, psychosocial, and structural factors that affect psychological well-being, adjustment to chronic illness, and mortality among Latinos; and health disparities between Latinos and non-Latino whites. Her research on the Latino mortality epidemiologic paradox has contributed to national and international debates on the mental and physical health of Latinos specifically, as well as on factors that influence immigrant health. Her current research includes the study of acculturation, cancer-related beliefs, and breast cancer screening among Latina women.

Dr. Abraído-Lanza leads a number of diversity initiatives at Columbia University. She is the director of the Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) at the Mailman School, an education project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which aims to increase the number of under-represented students who enter the field of public health. She also directed the summer training program of Columbia’s Center for the Health of Urban Minorities, a Center of Excellence funded by NIH to conduct and support research, training, and community partnerships, and ultimately contribute to national efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities. In addition, she co-Chairs the School’s Diversity Committee, and is a member of Columbia’s Professional Schools Diversity Council.

Dr. Abraído-Lanza has served as a committee or Board member on numerous scientific, professional and non-profit organizations, including the Division 38 (Health Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, the Association of Rheumatology Health Professions, inMotion (a New York City-based non-profit organization), and the New York Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. She is currently a member of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Community Task Force on Preventive Services.