Laura D'Anna, DrPh, MPA
Dr. Laura D’Anna is the director of the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) and an assistant professor in the Health Science Department at California State University, Long Beach. She has published in the areas of health equity and disparity, the relationships between social discrimination and health outcomes, substance use and sexual health risk, and HIV prevention. Since her appointment in 2016, D’Anna has brought over $4.71 million in direct research and research training funding to CSULB. She currently serves as the PI for an NIH-funded, multi-year research training grant and a high impact research project funded through the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program. Dr. D'Anna works in collaboration with her CHER Team, graduate and undergraduate students, community-based partners, and collaborating faculty to conduct community-engaged research and to evaluate community and place-based initiatives. Prior to coming to CSULB, she served as vice president for Planned Parenthood Orange & San Bernardino Counties, executive director for the Laguna Beach Community Clinic, and manager of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services STD/HIV clinics and programs.
Dr. D’Anna holds a doctorate in Public Health with an emphasis in Community Health Sciences from the UCLA School of Public Health, a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University, Long Beach, and a bachelor’s degree with a major in English and a minor in Sociology from Whittier College.
Her primary research interests are the social determinants of health, racial, and ethnic health disparities, and, specifically, the relationships between social discrimination and health. She has published in the areas of health equity and disparity, the relationships between social discrimination and health service utilization and health outcomes, and sexual health-related topics.
