Education

PhD, Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

MPH, Community Health Education, San Jose State University

BA, Psychology, Stanford University, CA

Biography

Valerie A. Paz-Soldán is a Peruvian-American social scientist applying both qualitative and quantitative research methods to improve empirical knowledge related to people’s knowledge and adoption of preventive behaviors associated with various infectious diseases or health issues. Her main research areas of interest are human behavioral aspects related to vector borne (dengue, Zika, Chagas) and zoonotic disease (rabies) transmission and control, as well as women’s access to cervical cancer screening programs. Her research has also focused on the health impact of land use change in the Peruvian Amazon basin.  She is based in Lima, Peru, where she directs the activities of the Tulane Health Office for Latin America. She has mentored approximately 60 students from various universities and nationalities conducting research activities in Peru, including post-doctoral students based in the Lima office, funded through Tulane’s NIH funded Inter-American Training on Emerging Infectious Diseases program, as well as undergraduates/graduates in the NIH-funded Minority International Health Research Training (MHIRT) program. Her doctoral dissertation focused on diffusion of ideas about reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections in Malawi.

Publications

View Dr. Paz-Soldan's publications at her NCBI profile page.