Marielena Lara is a senior physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, leading program initiatives to improve the health and social well-being of vulnerable communities. She has spearheaded interdisciplinary teams and multisectoral partnerships in action-oriented implementation and policy research to reduce inequities in health care and community systems. Her projects have benefited varied populations including children with chronic health conditions, immigrant workers, women at risk of breast cancer, and victims of natural disasters. Lara is an expert in data collection and analytic approaches with non-English speaking, racially, and ethnically diverse populations. Her multilingual communication expertise includes a wide range of audiences like policymakers, public and private sector leaders, and communities, authoring many scientific and policy publications, and producing educational and other content in printed, audio, and video form in English and Spanish. She earned her M.D. from Harvard Medical School/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, her M.P.H in health services management and policy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her B.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Selected Publications
Lara, M., et al., "Improving Childhood Asthma Outcomes in the United States: A Blueprint for Policy Action," Pediatrics
Lara, M., et al., "Balancing “Fidelity” and Community Context in the Adaptation of Asthma Evidence-Based Interventions in the “Real World”," Health Promotion Practice
Lara, M., et al., "Acculturation and Latino Health in the United States," Annual Review of Public Health, 2005
Lara, M., et al., "Development and validation of the RAND Asthma Control Measure," European Respiratory Journal
Lara, M., et al., "An English and Spanish Pediatric Asthma Symptom Scale," Medical Care
Lara, M., et al., "Heterogeneity of Childhood Asthma Among Hispanic Children: Puerto Rican Children Bear a Disproportionate Burden," Pediatrics
Lara, M., et al., "Reducing Quality of Care Disparities for Childhood Asthma: La Red de Asma Infantil Intervention in San Juan, Puerto Rico," Pediatrics
Lara M and Goodman CS, National Priorities for the Assessment of Clinical Conditions and Medical Technologies, National Academy Press
