Patchareeya (Patty) Kwan

Dr. Patchareeya (Patty) Kwan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at California State University Northridge and multiple Principal Investigator of two NIH-funded grants – the BUILD PODER Center funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to engage, support, and retain undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds in biomedical research and other STEM-related fields and the SEA US, HEAR US Study funded by the National Institutes on Minority Health and Health Disparities to better understand COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and its sequelae among Southeast Asian Americans in the Greater Los Angeles area. Her research focuses on health disparities and health equity among underserved/minoritized populations using community-engaged mixed methods approaches. Previous research projects included a culturally-tailored smoking cessation intervention, qualitative studies looking at COVID-19 experiences and access and utilization of mental health services among Pacific Islander adults in Southern California, and secondary analysis of diabetes-related data among an aggregated and disaggregated Asian American sample. Dr. Kwan immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand with her family, eventually graduating from the University of Southern California with degrees in biological sciences, public health, and health behavior research.