Ninez Ponce, a leading expert on racial and ethnic disparities in health as well as survey research, and the principal investigator of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), has been appointed an associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Ponce, along with Steven P. Wallace, the Center's other associate director, and Gerald Kominski, the Center's director, comprises the senior leadership team of one of the nation's foremost health policy research centers.
"This is an exciting time of growth and innovation at the Center and Ninez's distinguished track record as a leading health policy and data expert, especially in regards to diverse groups and communities, is essential to our success," said Kominski. "She brings a perspective that is invaluable to understanding the health challenges of a state as multicultural as California, and of an increasingly diverse nation."
Ponce is an expert on health insurance, economics and racial/ethnic health disparities. Her research has focused on understanding macroeconomics effects on health and health care access in developing countries and in low-income neighborhoods and among racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. She is also a leading authority on population health surveys, having helped to develop the first CHIS survey in 2001. She is a professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management.
Congratulations, Ninez!
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) is one of the nation’s leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health policy information for California. UCLA CHPR improves the public’s health through high quality, objective, and evidence-based research and data that informs effective policymaking. UCLA CHPR is the home of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and is part of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and affiliated with the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.