Larissa Avilés-Santa, MD, MPH
Director, Division of Clinical and Health Services Research National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Institutes of Health
Dr. Larissa Avilés-Santa is the director of the Division of Clinical and Health Services Research (DCHSR) at NIMHD. Under DCHSR, NIMHD supports a comprehensive range of clinical and health services research to generate new knowledge to promote timely evidence-based prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases and conditions associated with the greatest burden of morbidity and mortality; improve health/clinical outcomes, and reduce health-related complications through the effective implementation of evidence-based guidelines of care; and improve quality of health care, quality of life and life expectancy among NIH-designated populations that experience health disparities.
Prior to joining NIMHD, she worked at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as the project director for the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos since it began on October 1, 2006. In addition, Dr. Avilés-Santa has participated in multiple NIH-wide committees and working groups addressing minority health, clinical research, diabetes mellitus and its complications, women’s health, and vascular dementia. In 2015, she founded the NIH Hispanic Health Research Scientific Interest Group. In 2017, Dr. Avilés-Santa was the field coordinator of the post-disaster recovery of the health and social services of the entire Archipelago of Puerto Rico during the first six and a half months of work coordinated by the HHS ASPR, Recovery Division, impacting 3.4 million human lives.
Dr. Avilés-Santa earned her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University Hospital in San Juan and a fellowship in endocrinology at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center. As a faculty member of the Endocrine Division at UT Southwestern she worked in clinical research, teaching, and direct patient care. She also earned a Master’s degree at the UT School of Public Health.
Panel Information
HEALTHCARE - Hard Truths, Real Solutions: Chronic Disease and the Latino Experience
2:00 PM
Chronic diseases are often diseases of the powerless. In Latino communities, conditions like diabetes, obesity, and asthma reveal deep systemic failures—limited access to care, food insecurity, environmental injustice, low health literacy, and a long history of exclusion. This session brings together a panel of healthcare leaders to examine where we are, how we got here, and what it will take to turn the tide. From clinical care to community-based interventions and research-backed strategies, speakers will share what’s working and why. Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of the root causes of health disparities—and practical tools to help close the gap.