Angie Verissimo, PhD, MPH

Born in Lima, Peru, Dr. Angie Denisse Otiniano Verissimo is an Associate Professor of Teaching at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health where she earned her PhD and MPH. She completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs funded by the National Institutes of Health. Her research examines (1) how discrimination contributes to health disparities, particularly among the Latine community, (2) the health and social advantages of engaging community members in research and intervention processes, such as through the Promotor Model, and (3) interventions that incorporate virtual reality as a means of storytelling and healing. She has published her research in the American Journal of Public Health and coauthored a chapter in “The Cost of Racism for People of Color: Contextualizing Experiences of Discrimination” published through the American Psychological Association. She has been involved in several community-based programs and projects that bring services directly to community members and acknowledge the expertise of community members.