~ RGVRC Affiliate Scholar ~

Dr. Laura Vargas is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and researches exposure to trauma and mental health of recent Latinx immigrants in the United States. Dr. Vargas focuses on understanding how phenotypes of depression, anxiety, and PTSD are shaped by traumatic experiences, individual characteristics, and symptom severity among Latinx adult immigrants. She is a Mexican/American bicultural researcher and clinician focused on mental health and health service utilization among Latinx populations. Previously, she studied the relationship between widespread community violence and healthcare service access and utilization in Mexico, including working with the country’s Ministry of Social Policy. She is affiliated with the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the University of Colorado Boulder Population Center and the Institute for Behavioral Science; and was selected as a 2024 Health Disparities Research Institute Scholar by NIMHD. She is an advisory council member for the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center and is a member of the Issue Advisory Committee for the Nationwide Public Awareness and Education Campaign Aimed at Reducing Firearm Deaths, Injuries and Impact of Gun Violence on Youth in America by the Ad Council. Dr. Vargas received her MPA (International and Public Affairs), MSW, and Ph.D. (Social Work) from Columbia University.