Championing Health Equity Through Resilience and Innovation

Anayeli Herrera Morales, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in epidemiology, has an inspiring journey in public health and epidemiology. From Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, Mexico, to her current role in translational science, her story is marked by resilience, passion, and a commitment to health equity.

Herrera Morales faced language and cultural barriers after relocating to Oklahoma at 11. Despite these challenges, she graduated as Valedictorian in high school and earned her BA in Spanish from the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 2009. Her honors thesis explored the intersection of medicine and language, analyzing social determinants of health.

Herrera Morales pursued her MPH at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC), graduating in 2013. The Gates Millennium Scholarship granted her an academic deferment, allowing her hands-on public health experience before committing to a PhD program. Her cardiovascular and genetic services roles strengthened her research coordination and leadership skills.

Herrera Morales chose UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Brownsville, TX, for the PhD program in Epidemiology due to its focus on border health and commitment to addressing health disparities. As a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) and Teaching Assistant/Associate (TA), she collaborated with faculty members, including Professor Stefan Czerwinski, PhD, Associate Professor Miryoung Lee, PhD, Assistant Professor Audrey Choh, PhD, and Professor Blanca Restrepo, PhD. Under Lee's mentorship, Herrera Morales contributed to research on sleep quality, cardiometabolic health, and childhood obesity and developed her dissertation on maternal sleep disorders and health outcomes.

Currently, Herrera Morales is a postdoctoral research fellow at UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School, conducting research at the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS), where she focuses on brain health and community engagement, aiming to translate scientific findings into practical solutions for underserved populations.

Herrera Morales's long-term goal is to work as a bilingual public health professional focused on reducing health disparities. She hopes to continue her career in academia and public health, mentoring future professionals and leading community-based research. Rooted in her lived experiences and public health training, a deep belief in equity and empowerment guides her work. She strives to ensure that research addresses real-world needs and uplifts the communities it serves.