Dellanira Garcia Portrait

Dellanira Garcia

Associate Professor

Full-Time Faculty
Socials

Biography

Dr. Dellanira Garcia, a licensed clinical psychologist, obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington. She was awarded a National Research Service Award (F31) from the National Institutes of Mental Health to examine social capital and mental illness among women of Mexican descent. Dr. Garcia's research focuses on socio-cultural contextual factors impacting ethnic minority mental health and sexual risk behaviors, with an emphasis in Latino populations. Her community-based work, conducted in both English and Spanish, focuses on women, ethnic minorities, and underserved/marginalized populations. Dr. Garcia has national and international experience examining stigma and HIV prevention with women.

Dr. Garcia has co-authored several publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as book chapters and has numerous presentations at professional conferences. Her published works focus on the roles of race/ethnicity and gender inequities in the areas of mental health, social capital, sexual risk and HIV risk behaviors. Her published work includes a co-authored publication examining the intersection of gender and ethnicity in HIV risk among Latinos and African Americans in the U.S. in the American Psychologist (2013).

Expertise

  • Mental health and health disparities among BIPOC communities
  • Latinx Mental Health
  • Community based research methods
  • Social determinants of health
  • Women's sexual risk and health

Appointments

  • President, Section III, Society of Latinx Womxn in Psychology/Sociedad de Mujerx en Psicologia, Division 35 (Psychology of Women), American Psychological Association
  • Admissions and Recruitment Chair, PsyD Program
  • Forum Chair, Latinas in Leadership Conference, USF Office of Diversity Engagement and Community Outreach with Vice Provost Dr. Mary Wardell-Ghirarduzzi

Education

  • PhD, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
  • MA, Psychology, Boston University
  • BA, Psychology, University of California at Davis

Prior Experience

  • Research Consultant, Health Equity Institute, San Francisco State University
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Sierra Pacific Mental Illness, Research, Education, & Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Palo Alto Healthcare System & Stanford University (APA-Accredited) 
  • Project Director, Department of Medicine, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco, CA

Awards & Distinctions

  • Educational Effectiveness Award, Program Evaluation Committee, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of San Francisco, 2019
  • Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Research Congress, Excellence in Educational Research Award, 2016
  • Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health, Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (award amount $35,398), 2014-2016

Selected Publications