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Cristina S. Barroso, DrPH, MPH

Chair, Department of Health, Behavior, and Society

Associate Professor

Dr. Barroso earned a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Behavioral Sciences and an MPH from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health. Additionally, she received a BS in Biology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Her areas of interest in teaching are qualitative research methods. She is a health equity researcher. She focuses on childhood obesity, healthy eating, active living, body image, and e-cigarette use within the context of policy, systems, and the environment (PSE). She uses a multidisciplinary approach and mixed methods, including community-based participatory approaches, to seek to: 1) understand mechanisms by which PSE influences chronic disease onset and progression among underserved populations such as racial/ethnic minorities; 2) identify modifiable targets for intervention; and 3) devise responsive, multi-level, evidence-based strategies to eliminate health disparities and achieve health equity.

Dr. Barroso's most recent academic appointment is to the University of Tennessee, College of Nursing as an associate professor, tenured, teaching in the Ph.D., DNP, and undergraduate programs.

Additionally, Dr. Barroso is a section editor (Public Health) for the journal Annals of Medicine and serves on the board of the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic, which provides primary health services at no cost to residents in East Tennessee.