Get Involved

Discover how you can collaborate with the Southern California Center for Latino Health and participate in our research. Meet our network of coalition members.

The Southern California Center for Latino Health studies why some chronic diseases disproportionately affect Latinos. We research the causes of these disparities and develop solutions to improve the health of Latino families.

As a regional center, we cover 10 counties across Southern California. We also work with several universities across the nation. The Center intends to include different perspectives in our projects. We encourage people from different fields, environments and backgrounds to get involved to help us achieve this goal.

You can get involved by joining our research projects, community efforts or investigator programs. We welcome your interest in research data or ideas for potential projects.

Participate in Our Research Projects

Your family may benefit from joining one of our research studies. The Center aims to reach as many Latino children and families as possible with our projects. Some of our studies offer strategies or meal plans to help you improve your diet and nutrition. Many of our studies offer education and other assistance to help your family reduce risks for chronic diseases. 

By participating in our research, you can help improve the future health of Latino children and families.

Learn about our research

We develop new projects each year, and the Center hosts public seminars discussing our research projects and findings.

Connect with the Community

Our Community Engagement Core, a team dedicated to interacting with community members, runs programs to inform and encourage research. These programs may involve:

  • Community town halls and educational workshops
  • Discussions to improve study recruitment, continued participation and the sharing of findings
  • Listening sessions to identify community needs and priorities for future studies

Community Engagement Core programs

Our Community Engagement Core has created several programs so far, including:

  • Community Mentoring Program: We pair trainees and early career faculty with mentors for research guidance. 
  • Community Reviewer Training Program: This program engages community members who have expertise on our research topics. We prepare them to review the design and quality of the Center’s initial research projects.
  • Citizen Scientists: Through this program, we educate and empower community members to become advocates for Latino health.
  • Research 101: This workshop brings the voices of Latino community members into our research. 

For more information about the Community Engagement Core programs, please contact Adriana Argaiz, Associate Director, Community Engagement: Adriana.Argaiz@med.usc.edu. 

Join or Mentor Investigators

Our Investigator Development Core supports new researchers and investigators in the field. We look for early-career and minority researchers who study health disparities affecting Latinos. Chronic health conditions that more frequently affect Latinos include:

  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Fatty liver
  • Dyslipidemia

Each year, the Center awards up to 8 pilot studies of $50,000 each. We prioritize projects that cross specialties, promote research collaborations and engage the community.

To further support newer investigators, we match them with a mentor from our established faculty. In doing so, we create a mentoring network across Southern California.

If you are interested in mentoring opportunities or applying for pilot studies please contact Marymar Vacio, Project Assistant (Vacio@usc.edu) at our Investigator Development Core.

Our Network

The Center has a large network of collaborators. Each member of our coalition contributes to our mission in some way, including:

  • Administrative roles
  • Community engagement
  • Investigator development
  • Mentorship 
  • Project involvement

Coalition members

Our network includes community and health care organizations, research institutes and universities. Located across the region, each member contributes to our research efforts.

Community organizations

Health care organizations

Research institutions

Universities

We collaborate with California State University at their locations in Southern California, including:

Several University of California schools participate with our Center, including:

Additional universities that joined our coalition include: