Academic Research Team
Belinda Roman, PhD, Associate Professor of Economics, St. Mary’s University, serves as Principal Investigator (PI).
Belinda Román, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Economics at St. Mary’s University. She is a leader in the Association for Social Economics and the San Antonio Business and Economics Society. Román’s research on regional economic development includes partnerships with the Brookings Institute and the SABÉR Research Institute. Before academia, she worked on USAID projects, served on Capitol Hill, and held roles in London. Román is a fellow of the NSF’s Diversity Initiative and has received an NSF grant to study diabetes and workforce outcomes.
Luisa Blanco, PhD, Professor of Public Policy, Pepperdine University, is Co-PI.
Luisa Blanco, Ph.D., is a researcher focused on financial behavior and retirement planning among U.S. minorities. She works with St. Mary’s University on the NSF Diabetes research grant and holds positions at UCLA, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, RAND Corporation, and Oxford. Blanco leads studies on retirement savings and financial health, including a trial on retirement education for Hispanics in Los Angeles and a mobile project tracking financial behavior in California.
Janet Armitage, PhD, MBA, is Chair and Professor of Sociology and Director of Public Health Programs at St. Mary’s University.
Her interdisciplinary research focuses on disparities in health, wellness, and healthcare systems, with a particular emphasis on compassion and its transformative role across individual, organizational, and institutional contexts. Her recent work explores the development and application of active compassion in medical education, alongside investigating how organizational compassion can alleviate workplace distress and suffering in its diverse forms.
Dr. Armitage’s research is deeply informed by her advanced training in compassion and interprofessionalism through prestigious institutions such as the Compassion Institute (California), the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics at Emory University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and her fellowship with the San Antonio Compassion Institute.
Sue P. Nash, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Health, St. Mary’s University, is Co-PI.
Sue P. Nash, Ph.D., joined the Department of Sociology at St. Mary’s University in the fall of 2017. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Bowling Green State University in 2016. Her research interests include intimate partner violence in adolescence and young adulthood, health and well-being, and family violence. She teaches courses in statistics, introduction to sociology, and family violence.
Lori Boies, PhD, Associate Professor of Bioinformatics, St. Mary’s University, is Co-PI.
Lori Boies, Ph.D., MPH, is a professor in biological sciences and public health, focusing on neurophysiology, genomics, and epidemiology. She holds a B.S. in Biochemistry, a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology. Boies’ research explores neural stem cells and genetic factors in childhood cancer survivors. She is also an active volunteer with the Bexar County Medical Society Alliance and the Texas Medical Association Alliance, and enjoys nature and photography in her spare time.
Student Research Team
Ana Clara Lobato e Farias Machado
BA Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Economics, University of the Incarnate Word
Haley
Laura Gately
BA Sociology, Public Health Certificate St. Mary’s University.
4+1 Accelerated Masters’s Program (MPH), UT Health Houston School of Public Health
Jose Martinez
BS Economics, St. Mary’s University
