SDSU HealthLINK Center for Transdisciplinary Health Disparities Research
SDSU HealthLINK Center for Transdisciplinary Health Disparities Research
Serves as the hub to advance health in all communities at the Center, including basic biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and population health research. The team oversees five groups that each specialize in an area of research—biomedical methods, measurement methods, health sensor methods, intervention methods, and data analytic methods. Each group is developing resources and services that will facilitate research at SDSU.
Dr. Huang holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California San Diego and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunology at the New York University Langone Medical Center in 2016. Between 2016 and 2023, Dr. Huang was an assistant professor at the University of California San Diego. Her research team uncovered key roles RNA binding proteins and transcription factors in autoimmune disease, tissue inflammation, and cancer using cutting-edge molecular and genomics techniques.
Dr. Huang is passionate about mentoring research trainees from postdoctoral fellows, graduate, to undergraduate students, especially those from the underrepresented minority (URM) background. In 2023, Dr. Huang joined the SDSU HealthLINK Center. As the Center Research Manager, Dr. Huang leverages her scientific expertise and leads the Center’s Recharge Capacity Core, overseeing cost recovery service development and delivery in support of research projects addressing minority health and health disparities challenges.
Dr. Huang is the senior and communicating author of eight of the 28 peer-reviewed journal articles and served as an Academic Editor for multiple journals, including Scientific Report and PLOS ONE, and as scientific reviewer for numerous other journals.
Visit NCBI Bibliography to view a complete List of Dr. Huang’s publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1pWgwasgexg1eh/bibliography/public/
Dr. Shih-Fan “Sam” Lin co-leads the Center’s Measurement Methods Group and Health Data Analytics Group at the SDSU HealthLINK Center. He is also a Research Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at SDSU. His research training has focused on social demography with an emphasis on temporal trends of racial health disparities and on various health outcomes. He has ample experience in data analysis, data management, and statistical programming. Dr. Lin works closely with investigators holding research projects and pilot projects within the SDSU HealthLINK Center to ensure methodological and data quality and integrity. Dr. Lin’s research interests include racial health disparities, childhood obesity, older adult disability, and falls prevention
Ms. Yaritza Benitez coordinates the efforts of the Health Data Analytics Group and the Measurement Methods Group. She has been in her role since 2021 and has supported various researchers and their research teams in different areas such as data management, data analytics as well as support using different Electronic Data Capture (EDC) systems such as REDCap Cloud, REDCap Academics, Qualtrics, and ilumivu mEMA. Her research interests lie in understanding and reducing health disparities among minorities. Ms. Benitez graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SDSU in 2016. She has volunteered and worked at the SDSU Research Foundation since 2014 in different projects at the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health and at South Bay Latino Research Center.
Dr. Claudia Carrizosa is a Research Associate at the SDSU HealthLINK Center. She has years of experience in research studies among medically underserved and populations affected by chronic disease and cancer. Her foreign degree in medicine and Master of Public Health with a health promotion emphasis has shaped her interest in interventions that offer more than clinical services to prevent and control disease. She </span><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>has a strong background in qualitative data collection and research interventions. Dr. Carrizosa’s research areas of interest focus on topics that include, but are not limited to, cancer disparities, patient navigation, physical activity, bone health, and healthy aging. She is licensed as the Center’s bone densitometry technician. Dr. Carrizosa is part of the Research Infrastructure Team at the SDSU HealthLINK Center.
Mr. Lance Norita is a Server and Database Administrator at the SDSU HealthLINK Center. He has a Bachelor of Science from San Diego State University. Mr. Norita oversees the Center’s physical and virtual server infrastructure including implementation, security, and management of the Center’s data analytic infrastructure and associated databases for the Center’s programs and affiliated projects.
Shyan currently works as the Biomedical Management Group (BMG) Coordinator, where she oversees the management of biomedical laboratory spaces and conducts biological and biochemical assays. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from San Diego State University (SDSU) in 2021 and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Bioinformatics at SDSU. Her research focuses on the impact of fruit consumption on the gut microbiome. Shyan has a strong background in the biotechnology industry, having worked as a research associate on the development of point-of-care molecular diagnostic devices. Her technical expertise includes PCR, qPCR, DNA/RNA isolation, RNA-seq analysis, and NGS sequencing.
Michelle started as an intern at the SDSU HealthLINK Center in the Spring of 2023 and transitioned to Administrative Support Assistant in 2024. She has a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Psychology, with an emphasis on industrial and organizational psychology. Michelle’s role consists of supporting the overall center, with the primary focus on being the Front Desk Administrative Assistant/Receptionist at the Clinical Research Center. She also supports the Community Engagement Team and the Investigator Development Team.
Mr. Fernando Sing is the Computer Systems Administrator at the SDSU HealthLINK Center and Institute for Behavioral and Community Health. He plans, implements, directs, and maintains applications and the use of technology. He also evaluates and provides recommendations regarding complementing research activities with software applications and computer technology.