Ms. Desiree Gutierrez earned her Master of Public Health degree from UC Irvine with the Class of 2021 after having received her Bachelor’s degree in public health from Cal State Fullerton. While she was earning her master’s degree, she was a research assistant with UCI Public Health, a graduate reader, conducting research as part of the SEARCH Lab, and was also a site manager for the UCI actOC COVID-19 Community Wide Seroprevalence Project.
Ms. Gutierrez, who is from Torrance, California, is most interested studying health disparities, chronic disease prevention, social networks, maternal and child health, health equity, science communication, implementation science, and community-based participatory research.
Tell us about your current job post UCI:
Currently, I work as a research coordinator for the UCI Program in Public Health for Dr. Boden-Albala’s community-based research study SERVE OC. The primary aim of the study is to prevent high blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health among Hispanic/Latinx and Vietnamese families living in Santa Ana.
In my current position I like that I can continue to grow and have the opportunity to learn and try new things. For example, although my main duties focus on research, I also help with grant writing, manuscript development, student engagement through the UCI Program in Public Health Student Volunteer Core, and any other projects that get thrown our way. This past December I worked with the UCI Student Health Center to organize an on-campus flu vaccine clinic for students and in February, I presented an abstract at the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans as a part of Dr. Boden-Albala’s SEARCH lab.
This summer we hope to launch the SERVE OC study that we have been working on, which is exciting as we get to finally start working with the community and families in Santa Ana.
Who inspires you?
My family inspires me the most, growing up I was always surrounded by family, and they would always encourage me to pursue what interested me.
What is your favorite UCI memory?
My favorite UCI memories include spending time with friends from my MPH cohort and going to the pub or going out to eat after class. When we were in lockdown, we would also have game nights and do study groups for final exams using jeopardy style questions.
What is your favorite quote or message to current students?
My message to current students is to get involved with as much as you can while you are a student at UCI. As an MPH student I started off as a volunteer and it led to a lot of different opportunities and also allowed me to make new friends in the program.
