Vicky Rebecca Vazquez-Barrios

For more than 10 years, Vicky Rebecca Vazquez-Barrios has conducted research and community outreach to identify and address gender-based disparities among local and national populations. In 2012, she co-founded the Male Wellness Collective (MWC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that addresses the health and well being of boys, men, and their families. There, she saw a growing need for research that focused on the co-occurrence of substance misuse and mental health disparities among marginalized communities, particularly among Latino immigrant men.

In 2015, Vicky was accepted to FIU’s Stempel College, where she went on to earn her master’s and doctoral degrees in public health. While at FIU, Vicky conducted community-based participatory research to investigate and address the emergence of the substance misuse, violence/trauma, and HIV/AIDS (SAVA)syndemicin South Florida.

Her contributions to public health have received several accolades, including the highly coveted and competitive National Institutes of Health’s Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA). She was also the recipient of a doctoral fellowship from the National Institute on Minority and Health Disparity and has authored/co-authored six articles in scientific peer reviewed journals. In addition, her research on health disparities among immigrant populations in South Florida has been presented at numerous national and international scientific conferences.

Vicky is committed to translating her research findings into public health policy reform to address emerging health disparities among underserved and underrepresented communities.

By Stephanie Rendon
Senior Account Manager
Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work