Staff: Catherine M. Pichardo, Ph.D.
Catherine M. Pichardo, Ph.D.
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
- 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.
- Molina Y, Pichardo CM, Patrick DL, Ramsey SD, Bishop S, Beresford SAA, Coronado GD. Estimating the costs and cost-effectiveness of promoting mammography screening among US-based Latinas. J Health Disparities Res Pract 2018; 12(6):10.
- Molina Y, Pichardo CM, Patrick DL, Ramsey SD, Bishop S, Beresford SAA, Coronado GD. Estimating the costs and cost-effectiveness of promoting mammography screening among US-based Latinas. Poster presented at the 12th American Association of Cancer Research's The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved 2019, San Francisco, CA. 2019 September.
To request edits to this profile, please contact us at ncidccpsbrpadvances@mail.nih.gov.