Staff: Catherine M. Pichardo, PhD
Catherine M. Pichardo, PhD
Cancer Research Training Award Fellow
- Office of the Associate Director (OAD)
- Behavioral Research Program (BRP)
catherine.pichardo@nih.gov
240-276-6814
Catherine M. Pichardo, Ph.D., is a Cancer Research Training Award fellow in the Office of the Associate Director (OAD) and the Health Behaviors Research Branch (HBRB) of the Behavioral Research Program.
Dr. Pichardo's research focuses on understanding the role of individual, interpersonal, and structural determinants of cancer-related disparities. Topics of interest include the influence of adverse environments on racial/ethnic minority health and health inequities.
Dr. Pichardo's primary area of expertise involves multilevel determinants of cardiometabolic health disparities using ecological and social approaches that consider contextual factors among racial/ethnic minorities. Within this topic, she has conducted studies of interpersonal racial/ethnic discrimination, neighborhood segregation, racism-related coping mechanisms, sleep, mental health, metabolic health, and cancer. Specifically, Dr. Pichardo wants to pursue research examining how multidimensional factors- at the neighborhood and individual level interact to influence mechanisms (i.e., lifestyle health behaviors), and metabolic functioning and physiologic biomarkers, and in turn produce inequities in cancer outcomes among racial/ethnic groups.
Dr. Pichardo earned a Ph.D. in Psychology with a concentration in Community and Prevention Research from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Her predoctoral work was funded by an NCI T32 Cancer Education and Career Development Program training grant at UIC's Institute for Health Research and Policy. She holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from St. John's University in Queens, New York.
Secondary Branch/Office Appointment:
Health Behaviors Research Branch (HBRB)
Current and/or past BRP mentors include Linda Nebeling and Tanya Agurs-Collins.
Selected Publications and Presentations
- Jenkins BD, Rossi E, Pichardo C, Wooten W, Pichardo M, Tang W, Dorsey TH, Ajao A, Hutchison R, Moubadder L, McCullough LE, Bailey-Whyte M, Ambs S. Neighborhood Deprivation and DNA Methylation and Expression of Cancer Genes in Breast Tumors. JAMA Netw Open 2023 Nov 1; 6(11):e2341651.
- Pichardo CM, Chambers EC, Sanchez-Johnsen LAP, Pichardo MS, Gallo L, Talavera GA, Pirzada A, Roy A, Castañeda SF, Durazo-Arvizu RA, Perreira KM, Teng Y, Rodriguez CB, Allison M, Carlson JA, Daviglus ML, Plascak JJ. Association of census-tract level gentrification and income inequality with 6-year incidence of metabolic syndrome in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, an epidemiologic cohort study. Soc Sci Med 2023 Sep 9; 336:116222.
- Pichardo MS, Minas TZ, Pichardo CM, Bailey-Whyte M, Tang W, Dorsey TH, Wooten W, Ryan BM, Loffredo CA, Ambs S. Association of Neighborhood Deprivation With Prostate Cancer and Immune Markers in African American and European American Men. JAMA Netw Open 2023 Jan 3; 6(1):e2251745.
- Pichardo MS, Pichardo CM, Talavera GA, Gallo LC, Castañeda SF, Sotres-Alvarez D, Molina Y, Evenson KR, Daviglus ML, Hou L, Joyce B, Aviles-Santa L, Plascak J. Neighborhood segregation and cancer prevention guideline adherence in US Hispanic/Latino adults: Results from the HCHS/SOL. Front Oncol 2022 Dec 19; 12:1024572.
- Pichardo CM, Molina KM, Rosas CE, Uriostegui M, Sanchez-Johnsen L. Racial Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms among Latina/o College Students: The Role of Racism-Related Vigilance and Sleep. Race Soc Probl 2021 Jun; 13:86-101.
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