PRIMARY TEAM

STEVEN D. SHAPIRO

Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, USC

Dr. Steven D. Shapiro, MD, was appointed Senior Vice President for Health Affairs in May 2021. Shapiro directly oversees Keck Medicine of USC and the Keck School of Medicine of USC, working closely with the Office of the Provost and the university’s senior leadership team and serving as a critical member of the USC Health System Board.

Shapiro joined USC after spending 15 years at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), serving several capacities. He led UPMC’s health services division that encompasses 40 hospitals and over 7,000 employed and affiliated physicians, working closely with the UPMC health plan and providing value-based care for the $23 billion healthcare provider and insurer. Shapiro began his tenure at UPMC as the Jack D. Myers Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine. In 2010, he was named UPMC’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer. Before UPMC, Shapiro was the Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

A physician-scientist who remained active clinically and at the lab bench, Shapiro’s research focused on novel molecular pathways of inflammation, tissue destruction and host defense in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), infectious diseases, vascular disease and lung cancer. His efforts have led to several new potential therapies that are in clinical trials.

He is the author of more than 230 peer-reviewed manuscripts, chapters and reviews. In addition, he was the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology and currently serves on several editorial boards.

Shapiro received his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Chicago and his residency and fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

kayla De la Haye

Co-Primary Investigator

Dr. Kayla de la Haye , Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California. She works to address key public health issues by integrating behavioral science, network science, and systems science. Her work focuses on family and community social networks, and the environments in which people live, to promote healthy eating and food security, and to prevent disease and health disparities. Her research also explores the role of social networks in how families, teams, and coalitions solve complex problems and address health risks. Dr. de la Haye previously worked as an Associate Behavioral/Social Scientist at the RAND Corporation. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Adelaide, Australia.

jane steinberg

Co-Investigator

Dr. Jane K. Steinberg, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Clinical in the Department of Population Sciences and Public Health at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine. She also serves as the Director of Public Health Practice for the MPH Program. Her research focuses on determinants of multiple risk behaviors (alcohol/drug use, HIV/STDs) among youth and young adults, and development of educational interventions to reduce health risks. Most recently, Dr. Steinberg has examined public health impacts of local and state tobacco and cannabis policies on product use, particularly among youth. Her goal is to develop policy approaches that can reduce tobacco and cannabis product use among youth and reduce health disparities among these and other vulnerable populations.

Her current work on the Stay Connected LA Project involves the development and evaluation of a community-based COVID-19 educational intervention to for vulnerable communities in LA. Dr. Steinberg received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis, and her MPH and PhD in Community Health Sciences from the University California, Los Angeles.

rosa barahona

Program Administrator

Rosa Barahona is Program Administrator in the Department of Population and Public Health at the Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) of the University of Southern California (USC) and for Community Outreach and Engagement at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and an Associate degree in Liberal Arts from Mount Saint Mary’s University.  She has been a leader in the implementation of health education and promotion campaigns both in Latin America and with Latino communities in California, bridging academia with community-based settings and working with promotores de salud. In particular she has facilitated the work on award winning programs like, Tamale Lesson, Es Tiempo, Su Corazón ,Su Vida, the National Latino Tobacco Control Network, Hispanos/Latinos Unidos en Casinos, Unidos Por la Salud, and on implementing one of the first programs in multiunit housing to prevent secondhand smoke exposure among Latinos, Regale Salud. She also oversaw a community based research project in American Indian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, Korean and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. She works closely with Vision y Compromiso, a network of over 5,000 Promotores de Salud in California.  With the COVID Pandemic, she has trained and oversees a cohort of 12 Community Vaccine Navigators for Stay Connected LA and Vaccinate LA. Ms. Barahona maintains consistent communication with in-country partners, managing financial concerns, and has contributed to multiple publications and reports at USC.

nicole reynoso

Research Assistant

Nicole Reynoso is a research assistant and volunteer for the USC Stay Connected LA project. She currently attends the University of Southern California, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. As an undergraduate student, she dedicates her time to volunteering at the LAC+USC Hospital, biomedical research, and various education opportunities. Her interest in aiding vulnerable communities drives her to interweave public health into medical endeavors. She hopes to continue addressing health disparities through projects like SCLA in the future.

LEO lerner

Student Research Assistant

Leo is a lifelong geographer whose work is informed by a wide-ranging engagement with the philosophy and social theory of the spatial heterogeneity of people, process, and place. He has a BA (Hons, first class) in Geography/North America from the University of Lancaster and an MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance from the University of Oxford. Entering the third year of the population, health and place PhD programme at the Spatial Sciences Institute, he is pursuing investigations into the relationships between researchers, practitioners, and participants within the cognate fields of sociology, public health and spatial science.

The USC Stay Connected LA Project required the efforts and time of many individuals and organizations. Get to know some of the incredible team members who made this important project possible.

Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati

Principal Investigator and Director

Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, MPH, is the Principal Investigator and Director of Stay Connected Los Angeles. She is Associate Dean for Community Initiatives and a tenured Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health at the Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) of USC. She is a Faculty Advisor to Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC)  and  Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California. She holds a Courtesy appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and is the Director of the KSOM Center for Health Equity in the Americas and of the Immigrant Health Initiative, and Principal Investigator of Stay Connect LA at Keck School of Medicine. Her work focuses on developing interventions in multidisciplinary teams to reduce health disparities. Most of her research focuses on cancer prevention and control, with an emphasis on tobacco and obesity related disparities. With the COVID Pandemic, she has turned her focus to developing innovative evidence based interventions for vulnerable communities through projects like Stay Connected Los Angeles and Vaccinate L.A. (VaccinateLA.Info). Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati has a long history of successful NIH funded grants and impactful publications in scientific journals. She has been a bridge and broker between the academy and the community working on community based and participatory research programs.

bonnie olsen

Co-Investigator

Dr. Bonnie Olsen, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience as a geropsychologist working in academic medicine.  In her clinical role she provides cognitive assessment in an interprofessional geriatric primary care setting.  As the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, Dr. Olsen is principal investigator in several research and program grants that support interprofessional geriatric education and elder abuse prevention and response. She has expertise related to elder abuse in the context of dementia, assessment of capacity, and the intersection of elder abuse and the Court. She has been a member of the Judicial Council of California, Mental Health & Probate Committee since 2019 and has remained dedicated to community service throughout her career. 

tess Boley cruz

Co-Investigator

Dr. Tess Boley Cruz, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor Emerita of Clinical in Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine.

Since 1996, Dr. Cruz has been involved in research projects and teaching at the masters and undergraduate levels at USC in community health education, communication, and health disparities.

Her research focuses on health communication, health literacy, disparities, and tobacco messaging.  Most recently, Dr. Cruz has served on research projects that analyze tobacco marketing and messages through social media, and that develop prevention messages for adolescent tobacco use.  Her past work has investigated tobacco marketing strategies in California, tribal tobacco marketing, and the use of fotonovelas for health education. Her goal is to develop approaches that can reduce health literacy barriers and disparities in vulnerable populations.

Currently, on Stay Connected LA, Dr. Cruz focuses on the communication issues in the project, including: message design, pretesting, health literacy,  qualitative input from community members, assessment of health communications and collaboration with specific artists. 

edward chauca

Doctoral Student

Edward Chauca is a PhD student in Health Behavior Research at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on how the experience of migration impacts the mental health of Latinx communities in the United States. His approach combines the fields of health behavior, cultural studies, and medical anthropology. He received a PhD and a MA in Spanish American Literature from UCLA.  

Edward Chauca es un estudiante de doctorado en Conductas de la Salud en the University of Southern California. Su investigación se enfoca en cómo la experiencia de migración impacta la salud mental de la comunidad latina en los Estados Unidos. Su acercamiento combina los campos de las conductas de la salud, los estudios culturales y la antropología médica. Además, ha recibido un doctorado y una maestría en Literatura Hispanoamericana de UCLA.

Mercedes Amezcua

Project Manager

Mercedes Amezcua (she/her/hers) is the Project Manager for the USC Stay Connected L.A. project. She graduated from USC with a Master's in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Communications. As a graduate student, she worked with USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center and USC School of Pharmacy, researching how popular television programs portray health topics and creating effective health communication materials. When not working, she enjoys acting, dancing, and walking her dog, Osito.

talie cloud

Student Research Assistant

Talie Cloud is an undergraduate student intern majoring in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention with a minor in Natural Sciences. She is passionate about addressing the lived health disparities experienced by Latinx communities throughout California by applying her knowledge of health behavior research and study design. Talie has vastly enjoyed working on the Stay Connected LA project and looks forward to applying what she learned to her future endeavors in public health after graduation. 

Nicole Karpowicz

Student Research Assistant

Nicole Karpowicz is a graduate student doing her Master of Public Health in biostatistics. She is assisting with the project data analysis and evaluation.

derek duong

Student Worker/Social Media Coordinator

At the start of Stay Connected LA, Derek has spread awareness through social media management and various events, such as the Heidleman Stairway clean up. Helping the Boyle Heights community with the Weingart YMCA, he has also helped in delivering food during the pandemic as well as COVID-19 testing. Now, he is a Master of Public Health Graduate student at Boston University, with a concentration in program development and mental health. He hopes to continue giving back to the community and aims to change the stigma and level of awareness surrounding mental health.