Presidential Address I
- Presidential Address I: Wednesday, June 2, 2021, 2:20 pm – 3:20 pm (EDT)
Introduction: Guillermo (Willy) Prado, PhD
Keynote: Margaria Alegria, PhD, Chief of the Disparities Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and The Mongan Institute, the Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Lehnert Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair, and Professor in the Department of Medicine and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
Presidential Address II
- Presidential Address II: Thursday, June 3, 2021, 2:20 pm – 3:20 pm (EDT)
Introduction: Guillermo (Willy) Prado, PhD
Keynote: Dr. Karen L. Parker, PhD, MSW, Director of the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office, National Institutes of Health
Speaker Bios
Guillermo (Willy) Prado, PhD, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs; Dean of the Graduate School; and Professor of Nursing and Health Studies, Public Health Sciences, and Psychology at the University of Miami
Dr. Guillermo (Willy) Prado is Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs; Dean of the Graduate School; and Professor of Nursing and Health Studies, Public Health Sciences, and Psychology at the University of Miami. His research broadly focuses on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of parenting interventions for Hispanic youth and their families. Prado’s research has appeared in over 140 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. He has been PI, Co-I, or mentor by over $100 million dollars of NIH. His research has been recognized by numerous organizations, including the National Hispanic Science Network, the Society for Prevention Research, and the Society for Adolescent and has been featured in several domestic and international news outlets, including the Miami Herald and CNN en Español. Prado has also successfully mentored doctoral and post-doctoral fellow, most of which are currently in faculty positions of their own and leaders in their fields. He is the recipient of awards from the Florida Education Fund and the Society for Prevention Research for his commitment to graduate students of color and early career prevention scientists, respectively. Prado is currently PI of NIDA/NIH funded study evaluating the effectiveness of an online adaption of Familias Unidas, an evidence-based family intervention, for Hispanic youth in primary care. He is also the Director of the Investigator Development Core of the NIMHD/NIH funded Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities. Finally, Prado is currently the President of the Society for Prevention Research; a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States; and a Board Member of Research!America, the country’s largest not-for-profit public education and advocacy alliance committed to making research to improve health a higher national priority.
Presidential Address I
Margaria Alegria, PhD
Margaria Alegria, PhD, Chief of the Disparities Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and The Mongan Institute, the Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Lehnert Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair, and Professor in the Department of Medicine and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
Dr. Alegría is currently the PI of four National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research studies: The Impact of Medicaid Plans on Access to and Quality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment; Building Infrastructure for Community Capacity in Accelerating Integrated Care; Building Community Capacity for Disability Prevention for Minority Elders; and Latino Youth Coping with Discrimination: A Multi-Level Investigation in Micro- and Macro-Time. Dr. Alegría has published over 290 peer-reviewed papers, and several book chapters, on topics such as improvement of health care services delivery for diverse racial and ethnic populations, conceptual and methodological issues with multicultural populations and ways to bring the community’s perspective into the design and implementation of health services.
In acknowledgement of her contributions to her field, Dr. Alegría has been widely recognized and cited. Her research has been recognized by the Simon Bolivar Award by the American Psychiatry Association, the Carl Taube Award by the American Public Health Association and the Health Disparities Innovation Award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities. In October 2011, she was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Most recently, Dr. Alegria received the 2019 Steven Banks Award from the Mental Health Section of the American Public Health Association.
Presidential Address II
Karen L. Parker, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Karen L. Parker, Ph.D., M.S.W. currently serves as Director of the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office, NIH. Dr. Parker was instrumental in the formation of the office in the fall of 2015 and was appointed as Director in June, 2016. The office coordinates NIH research related to the health of sexual and gender minorities across the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices. In her new role, she also serves as co-chair of the trans-NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) and has served on the committee since its inception in 2011.
The office was established in response to the 2011 NIH-commissioned Institute of Medicine Report (now the National Academy of Medicine), which highlighted opportunities where NIH could better support current knowledge of the health status of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. It is part of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives within the NIH Office of the Director.
Dr. Parker comes to the NIH Office of the Director from the National Cancer Institute where she served as an Acting Branch Chief in the NCI Office of Science Planning and Assessment and Women’s Health Officer for the Institute. Prior to this, she was the Special Assistant to the President’s Cancer Panel. She began her career at NIH in 2001 as a Presidential Management Fellow.
Dr. Parker has long been part of the discussion on the diverse health issues affecting sexual and gender minority communities and the need for initiatives to support research and training in this area. Dr. Parker is also Past-President of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.
Dr. Parker received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Indiana University and her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan, where she studied community organization, social policy, and evaluation. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work.