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Marielena Lara, Md 1 MARIELENA LARA, MD, MPH 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407 (310) 393-0411 X7657 / [email protected] CAREER OBJETIVE: To continue to make a difference in the health, social and economic wellbeing of vulnerable communities through collaborative action and policy research SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS: Career-long commitment to evidence-based implementation research to dismantle inequities and inequalities International leader in multisectoral and community-based participatory research to improve outcomes for chronic illnesses, with a special emphasis on Hispanics Creativity in visualizing and executing research and policy initiatives including evaluation and dissemination with the goal of long-term sustainability Excellent multilingual communication skills with multiple audiences, including policymakers, private and public sector leaders, scientists and researchers, communities, and the lay public Broad methodological expertise in quantitative and qualitative analytic approaches across disciplines and racial/ethnic groups PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE RAND CORPORATION 1991 – Present Senior Physician Policy Researcher 2018 – Present Full and Senior Physician Policy Researcher 2006 – 2015 Affiliated Staff 1995 – 2006; 2015 – 2018 Consultant 1991 – 1995 Designed, obtained funding for, and executed difficult research and policy studies as Principal Investigator, for example: Engaging NGOs in Puerto Rico (PR) for Disaster Recovery. As the recipient of the 2020 RAND Alumni Award I brought together 8 leading PR NGOs to collaborate with RAND to disseminate, and possibly implement, recovery actions developed by RAND and submitted by the government of Puerto Rico to Congress (funding RAND Alumni Impact Fund; Feb 2020 -- Present) ‘Cuidarse’ (Taking Care of Yourself and Your Risk for Breast Cancer: A Health Communication Intervention for Latinas). Led an interdisciplinary team of 11 individuals, including community health workers, to conduct qualitative formative research and execute an RCT (randomized controlled trial) of 3 alternative ways to provide breast cancer prevention education among Spanish-speaking Latinas in California (funding AHRQ $1.5 M; 2012-2015) A Short Video Intervention for Immigrant Day Laborers at Occupational Health Risk. Created a video in Spanish collaborating with day laborers who served as actors, a Latino film producer, and a local trusted health care clinic to develop the script, cut the video, and conduct an RCT to evaluate its effects (funding NIOSH $447 K; 2011-2014) Over the course of 14 years, spearheaded 2 large efforts to stimulate systems change for children with asthma in Puerto Rico Alianza Contra el Asma Pediátrica en Puerto Rico (Allies Against Asthma) brought together a multisectoral coalition to improve community and health care systems for children with asthma from San Juan housing projects. The coalition actively engaged health care and community participants in an intervention that improved dramatically the quality of care and quality of life of the over 700 children with asthma served. After the program ended, the San Juan Department of Health sustained some of the intervention components (funding RWJF $1.7 M; 2001-2005) La Red de Asma Infantil de Puerto Rico (Childhood Asthma Network). This second effort, grounded on translational science, focused on the adaptation of existing evidence-based interventions for use among children with asthma from poor Puerto Rican communities. A national 2 multisectoral network supported the local adaptation of the interventions and advocated for the necessary policy changes to scale up the interventions for broader reach (funding Merck Childhood Asthma Network $3 M; 2006-2015) Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes in the US: A Blueprint for Policy Action. Assembled national experts and leaders to compose policy recommendations for an integrated federal, state, and community-level approach to asthma management. The CDC and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute used some of the recommendations to model asthma programs (funding RWJF 229K; 1999-2001) Played an important role in the development and implementation of RAND-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion activities, including: Facilitated the production of three events celebrating 2020’s Hispanic Heritage Month (hosting a distinguished Latina speaker, creating and presenting a lunch-break trivia game about Latin American culture, and actively participating in an equity and public policy seminar) Assembled a team to create a strategic framework to promote equity in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery for the RAND Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) Mentored RAND staff and students of color, including associate level researchers and policy analysts, administrative assistants, graduate students, and summer associates Participated in the corporate-wide diversity committee since its inception Led analysis of epidemiological, psychometric, and other quantitative data, for example: Constructed and validated a bilingual (English/Spanish) survey measure for adults and children with chronic respiratory disease to describe symptom level and quality of life. This “RAND bilingual asthma scale” was recommended by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for national use Ascertained disparities in mortality, morbidity, and prevalence of asthma among non-white children and adults who are black and/or of Puerto Rican, Mexican American, Cuban, or another race/ethnicity. Analysis results were quoted and disseminated by the CDC Co-Investigator for other RAND projects: Development of Puerto Rico Recovery Plan (PI: Cook 2018-2020) Potential Effects on the Labor Market in Puerto Rico from Expanding the Formal Long-term Care Sector (PI: Rohwedder 2019) Delivering Development of a New Measure of Asthma-Related Quality of Life (PI: Sherbourne 2011-2014) DUI Treatment Programs to Reduce Disparities Among Latinos (PI: Osilla 2014-2015) Estimating the Impact of Improving Asthma Treatment (PI: Mattke 2009-2010) Brief Interventions in DUI Programs (PI: Watkins 2009-2010) Evaluation of the Kaiser Permanente’s Health Eating Active Living Initiative (PI: Cohen 2006) Quality of Health Information on the Internet (PI: Berland 2001) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2015 – 2018 Professor of Pediatrics Attending Pediatrician and Director of Asthma Clinic, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Founded an interdisciplinary weekly specialty pediatric asthma clinic in collaboration with Esperanza Community Housing Corporation to improve quality of primary care and life children with asthma and their families (estimated 625 patient encounters over the course of 2 years) Trained and supervised pediatric residents taking care of patients in the general pediatrics outpatient clinic (estimated 720 patient encounters over 2 ½ years) Provided direct urgent pediatric patient care (estimated additional 750 patient encounters over 2 ½ years) 3 Co-Investigator for 2 public health research projects with AltaMed Health Services o Healthy Communities, Healthy Lives (CDC; PI: Hochman 2014-2018) o Partnerships to Increase Coverage in Communities Initiative (Office of Minority Health; PI: Davis 2015) Created a translational research partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, the USC School of Public Health, and other community and academic partners to enhance asthma health care and community services in Los Angeles UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES 1995 – 2006 Assistant and Associate Professor of Pediatrics Attending Pediatrician and Co-Director of Asthma Clinic, Olive View Medical Center, Sylmar, CA As Director of the Program on Latino children with asthma, led 3 health services and community-based studies: A qualitative assessment of primary physician perceptions of barriers to quality care for Latino children with asthma and their families in East Los Angeles A 24-hr ER longitudinal study about whether children with asthma come to the emergency room because of access barriers and/or acute need for severe symptoms A formative study of how children and parents perceive the impact of asthma differently As part of the clinical faculty trained pediatric residents and provided direct asthma for uninsured children with asthma including child and family education about symptoms, how to use medications and control home allergens INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 1988 – 1990 Program Officer, Council on Health Care Technology Directed a project to establish priorities for medical technology assessment by convening an expert panel to review scientific evidence and eliciting views from national organizations and thought leaders in the health care, academic, industry, and government sectors HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, STUDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM Summers 1983-1987 Research assistant, Orthopedics Biomechanics Laboratory, Beth Israel Hospital, working as part of a team developing a new biodegradable bone cement for hip and knee replacements (Summer 1983) Research Associate, Lung Sounds Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, participating in the development of a sound transducer prototype for acoustic analysis of tracheal sounds in premature babies (Summers 1985-1987) UPJOHN PHARMACEUTICALS Summer 1984 Assistant Engineer, Barceloneta, Puerto Rico Designed a network of fermentation tanks for the cultivation of micro-organisms as part of pharmaceuticals production COMMUNICATION / MEDIA EXPERIENCE Authored 53 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 12 policy reports (see selection below)
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