![Valerie Martinez](https://hsri.ucmerced.edu/sites/hsri.ucmerced.edu/files/martinez_valerie-150.jpg)
Graduate Student, Public Health, School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts
Advisor: Prof. Sandie Ha
Valerie Martinez joined the doctoral program in the UC Merced Public Health program in Fall 2019 and is an epidemiologist in training, investigating the intricate relationship between environmental factors and perinatal and reproductive health outcomes. For her master’s thesis, Valerie examined the association between environmental chemicals and infertility. Valerie will continue her doctoral research at UC Merced, studying the impact of maternal residence in an ethnic enclave and how it intersects with environmental factors like air pollution and its impact on fetal growth outcomes.