Biography

Dr. Patricia Y. Miranda is Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Administration and Demography at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Miranda received her PhD and MPH from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and was a Kellogg Health Scholar Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Health Disparities Research, Center for Research on Minority Health. Dr. Miranda’s research interests focus on cancer prevention among vulnerable populations, specifically disparities in cancer screening affecting immigrant and Latino populations. Dr. Miranda’s research reflects the shifting demographics of the United States; examines how policies and screening guidelines may differentially impact vulnerable populations; explores the role of place (e.g. neighborhoods) in understanding access to health services; engages affected populations in a community-based participatory research approach to create recommendations for future interventions and policy efforts at local, regional and national levels, as well as methods of engaging policymakers as members of a community to create multilevel interventions for reducing health disparities. Most recently, Dr. Miranda and her colleagues further examined the underserved breast cancer prevention needs within Latino populations, specifically among the Mexican-origin population, describing how these women may disproportionately face higher rates of breast cancer mortality without further investigation of a higher risk of premenopausal breast cancer, or a focus on the social determinants of their low rates of screening. These findings have been published in the journals Cancer and Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, and resulted in an award as Outstanding New Community Public Health Professional, presented to Dr. Miranda by the Latino Caucus for Public Health at the annual meetings of the American Public Health Association in Denver, CO in November 2010.