NIH Hispanic and Latino Investigators and Senior Scientists Project
The NIH Hispanic and Latino Investigators and Senior Scientist Project is intended to honor the work and achievements of NIH’s diverse workforce and help motivate and inspire students and postgraduates to pursue careers in science. Please take a moment to visit the links and read the biographies of these remarkable individuals. Within their biographies and accomplishments, you will find the result of hard work, smart choices, and opportunity. The diverse experiences of these problem-solvers are critical to fostering creativity and innovation at the NIH.
Kenneth Aldape, M.D.; Senior Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Leads research that studies genomic and epigenomic alterations in brain tumors, including glioma and meningioma.
Veronica Alicia Alvarez, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Leads research focused on understanding the effects of drugs of abuse on synapses and neuronal connectivity to reveal the cellular mechanisms that control reward-motivated behaviors and compulsive drug-seeking.
Andrea B. Apolo, M.D.; Lasker Clinical Research Scholar
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Dedicated to improving the treatment and survival of patients with genitourinary tumors. Her research involves developing and designing clinical trials to test novel agents for the treatment of urologic cancers.
Yeka Aponte, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Seeks to understand how genetically-identified cell types and their projections drive behaviors essential for survival.
S. Patricia Becerra, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Investigates how to prevent visual loss by protecting against pathological retinal cells demise and abnormal vessel growth.
Eric Calvo, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator, NIH Distinguished Scholar
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Leads a research unit that seeks to develop new control strategies to reduce or eliminate vector-borne diseases.
Carolina Barillas-Mury, M.D., Ph.D.; Distinguished Investigator
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Her lab seeks to understand the mosquito immune response to human pathogens and the strategies that microbes use to evade mosquito immunity, survive and be transmitted to humans when an infected mosquito bites a second person.
Pedro J. Batista, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
His research aims to understand how the RNA epigenome modulates gene expression during development and in disease.
Silvia M. Bolland, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Her research helps identify new genes that can be used as therapeutic targets in rheumatic diseases.
Juan S. Bonifacino, Ph.D.; Distinguished Investigator
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Is helping advance scientific knowledge about the mechanisms of protein trafficking and their connection to human disease.
Andres Luis Buonanno, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Leads a team to elucidate molecular mechanisms responsible for modulating synaptic and microcircuit properties that underlie working memory and other cognitive processes frequently affected in psychiatric disorders; to this end, we investigate how Neuregulin/ErbB4 signaling regulates these processes in mouse genetic models with relevance to schizophrenia.
Maria Constanza Camargo, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Leads a robust research program with a multidisciplinary team of international collaborators applying cutting edge molecular epidemiology to the study of H. pylori, premalignant and malignant gastric lesions.
Rafael Daniel Camerini-Otero, M.D., Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
His research seeks to improve the health of individuals with inherited and congenital conditions and diseases.
Yarimar Carrasquillo, Ph.D.; Investigator
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Her research focuses on the amygdala, a structure in the limbic brain system that plays critical roles in the modulation of tactile hypersensitivity, pain-related aversion learning and pain-induced changes in anxiety-related behaviors in rodent models of persistent pain.
Rafael Cristian Casellas, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
One of his research goals is to unravel the molecular mechanisms driving early development and peripheral activation of B lymphocytes.
Leonardo G. Cohen, M.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
His lab is interested in the mechanisms underlying plastic changes in the human central nervous system about motor learning and memory formation and consolidation and in the development of novel therapeutic approaches for the recovery of function after brain lesions based on the understanding of these mechanisms.
Rafael de Cabo, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Leads an aging, metabolism, and nutrition research unit that investigates the effects of nutritional interventions on basic mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases.
Maria L. Dufau Catt, M.D.,Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Heads the section on Molecular Endocrinology, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics at NICHD.
Freddy E. Escorcia, M.D., Ph.D.; Assistant Clinical Investigator Distinguished Scholar Program
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
His group aims to develop new agents to help us better treat and monitor cancer patients by harnessing systemic, targeted radionuclides.
José Faraldo-Gómez, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
He and his co-workers investigate the mechanisms of molecular systems involved in membrane physiology and biophysics.
Luis M. Franco, M.D.; Assistant Clinical Investigator
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
His laboratory seeks to employ the tools of modern functional genomic analysis in the solution of problems that are directly relevant to human health.
Adrian R. Ferré-D'Amaré, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
He studies RNA molecules in their many guises.
Sergi Ferré, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Studies complexes of receptors (receptor hetromers) involved in neuropsychiatric disorders.
Montserrat García-Closas, M.D., Dr.P.H.; Senior Investigator
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Leads research that employs a multidisciplinary approach to identify biomarkers of breast and bladder cancer risk in combination with questionnaire-based information collected from large epidemiological studies.
Romina Goldszmid, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator, Recipient of Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Leads research that aims to understand the underlying mechanisms regulating the functional maturation and dynamics of mononuclear phagocytes in pathological situations such as cancer and infections with particular emphasis on the role of the microbiota.
Myriam Gorospe, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Her group studies post-transcriptional gene regulation in mammalian models of cellular stress, cell division, senescence, and aging.
Jonathan M. Hernandez, M.D.; Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
His research program focuses on interrogating the molecular underpinnings of metastatic colonization to interrupt the process before its completion.
Miguel Holmgren, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Interested in understanding how RNA editing alters the function of membrane proteins.
Ramiro Iglesias-Bartolome, Ph.D.; Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Leads research focusing on elucidating the signaling mechanisms that control and drive tissue-specific stem cell self-renewal and differentiation and their connections to tumor initiation and growth.
Bechara Kachar, M.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
He uses high-tech imaging to understand the cell biology of hearing.
Paule V. Joseph, PhD, MS, FNP-BC, RN, CTN-B; Lasker Clinical Research Scholar, Distinguished Scholar Program
Joint appointment at the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
As a Nurse Scientist, she leads research that investigates the relationship between disturbances in sensory systems and disease; this includes individuals with metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes as well as addiction-induced differences in thresholds and responses to olfactory and gustatory cues, and changes in perception.
Mariana J. Kaplan, M.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Dr. Kaplan's research has focused on identifying mechanisms of organ damage and premature vascular disease in systemic autoimmunity.
Andres M. Lebensohn, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Studies how cell signaling pathways produce different physiological outcomes in diverse biological contexts, such as during embryonic development and in adult tissue homeostasis.
Maria J. Merino, M.D.; Senior Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Her research aim is to study and investigate the role of different tumor markers as prognostic tools in the diagnosis of breast, gynecological, and thyroid cancers, as well as other endocrine tumors and soft tissue sarcomas.
Marisela F. Morales, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator, Recipient of Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Leads research focusing on what the brain circuitry through which addictive drugs have their habit-forming actions, and what are the neuroadaptations in this circuitry that accompany the transition from recreational to compulsive drug-taking.
Maria I. Morasso, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Her lab aims to understand the function of specific transcriptional regulators and pathways in molecular and cellular processes that contribute to epidermal differentiation and barrier formation, wound repair and the mechanisms underlying the pathologies of Ectodermal Dysplasias (EDs).
Anna María Nápoles, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Scientific Director NIMHD, Adjunct Investigator
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
She provides executive and scientific leadership for the NIMHD intramural research program. Her research focuses on community-engaged cancer survivorship interventions to improve quality-of-life and reduce symptoms among diverse populations.
Mario Penzo, Ph.D.; Investigator
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
His lab is currently investigating the neuronal mechanisms underlying the formation and regulation of affective memories.
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D.; Institute Director, NIMHD,Senior Investigator
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
As Director of NIMHD, he leads the vision for advancing health equity through research on improving minority health and reducing health disparities. At NHLBI, he conducts analyses of existing data on the health of Latinos and other minorities related to tobacco and other substance use, chronic stress, unhealthy behaviors and mental health.
Rosa Puertollano, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
She seeks to understand precisely how defects in intracellular trafficking—specifically, in endosomal and lysosomal pathways—contribute to human diseases.
Paul A. Randazzo, M.D., Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
He studies Arf family guanine nucleotide-binding proteins and their regulators Arf GTPase-activating proteins (Arf GAPs) and Arf guanine nucleotide exchange factors (Arf GEFs), with a focus on their function in the regulation of integrin adhesion complexes.
Joseph Rodriguez, Ph.D.; Investigator, NIH Distinguished Scholar
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Leads research to study how the environment modulates the estrogen response in single living cells and how heterogeneity in the response contributes to disease.
Roberto Jose Romero-Galue, D(Med)Sc; Senior Investigator
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Chief of the Perinatology Research Branch and Head of the Program for Perinatal Research and Obstetrics in the Division of Intramural Research of NICHD.
Sergio Rosenzweig, M.D., Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
NIH Clinical Center (CC)
Chief of the Immunology Service, Department of Laboratory Medicine, NIH Clinical Center, NIH; his focus of interest include the molecular aspects of PID and immune dysregulation diseases, genetic susceptibility to particular microorganisms (e.g., mycobacteria and fungal infections), the role of glycosylation in infectious disease susceptibility, and the participation of Ikaros transcription factor family in PID.
Sergio Ruiz Macias, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Leads research to study the biology of embryonic stem cells.
Enrique Fabian Schisterman, M.A., Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Dr. Schisterman’s work has focused on both etiological and methodological components of exposure assessment, with an emphasis on the use of biomarkers.
Hugo Tejeda, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator, Distinguished Scholar Program
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Interested in understanding how the brain utilizes neuromodulation in motivational and emotional neural circuits to process information and orchestrate behavior.
Jesus Gilberto Valenzuela, Ph.D.; Senior Investigator
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
His research focuses on the molecular aspects of vector salivary proteins, with emphasis on studying the impact of sand fly salivary proteins at the vector/host/parasite interface.
Nora Volkow, M.D.; Institute Director/Senior Investigator
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
She has helped change the way the world views addiction and its mechanisms by using imaging technologies to study the brains of people with substance use disorders.
Joel Vega-Rodriguez, Ph.D.; Earl Stadtman Investigator, Distinguished Scholar Program
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Leads a research unit that studies the interaction of the malaria parasite with the mosquito vector and the human host to identify new targets that could be exploited for malaria interventions including chemotherapy, vaccine development, and transgenic mosquitoes.
Carlos Zarate Jr, M.D.; Senior Clinical Investigator
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Leads clinical research to speed up treatment for major depression and suicidal ideation.