Olivia Carter-Pokras, PhD
University of Maryland College Park
School of Public Health
Olivia Carter-Pokras, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Epidemiology at the University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health (UMCP-SPH. A health disparities researcher for 3 decades in the Federal government and academia, Dr. Carter-Pokras has been recognized by the Governor of Maryland, Surgeon General, Assistant Secretary for Health, and Latino Caucus of the American Public Health Association for her career achievements to improve racial and ethnic data, develop health policy to address health disparities, and improve health care quality for Latinos.
Dr. Carter-Pokras served on the Institute of Medicine’s Advancing Pain Research, Care, and Education Committee, and is an elected fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and a member of the American Public Health Association’s Education Board. She also chairs the American College of Epidemiology’s Policy Committee, and has a particular interest in translation of epidemiologic research into policy and practice to improve Latino population health. A long-time member of Montgomery County’s Latino Health Steering Committee, Dr. Carter-Pokras conducts health assessments of Latinos in Baltimore and Montgomery County in close partnership with local government and community based organizations, and has led NIH funded research projects to develop cultural competency and health literacy curricula, and address oral health of Latino and Ethiopian children and their mothers. She is the Evaluation Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Prevention Research Center at the University of Maryland.
Dr. Carter-Pokras has published more than 56 peer-reviewed journal articles, and her research has played a critical role in national recognition of health disparities experienced by Latinos. Dr. Carter-Pokras lectures on chronic disease epidemiology, epidemiologic methods, cultural competency and health disparities to public health students and health professionals.
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