Arturo Durazo is a community psychologist and health scientist. His research program advances health equity by engaging community partners in the creation of scientific evidence aimed at decreasing incidence and mortality of preventable cancers. His work focuses on individual and structural factors that promote well-being in low-income, racial/ethnic, and/or sexual/gender minority communities, who disproportionately bear the brunt of illness. Dr. Durazo joins UC Merced following his Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program Fellowship at UC San Francisco.
Dr. Durazo has over 20 years of experience implementing community-based research and developing evidence-based interventions to promote health equity. His leadership history includes service to the BIPOC, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ communities. Currently, his activities are focused on: 1) leading research involving underserved populations, particularly tobacco users experiencing homelessness and/or identifying as LGBTQ+, and 2) chairing a newly formed community coalition to address tobacco industry-related harm in the San Joaquin Valley. Dr. Durazo believes that we can accelerate health equity by implementing solutions that are co-created within partnerships between citizens, community leaders, policy makers, and researchers.
