Alex Ortega

Dr. Alex Ortega is Dean of the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health and Professor of public health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is also a Senior Associate Editor of Health Services Research (HSR), the official journal of AcademyHealth. Dr. Ortega is a health equity and health care policy scholar known for his research and public advocacy in improving the health and well-being of Latino youth and families throughout the United States, especially those who are undocumented immigrants or are otherwise disenfranchised. He has directed NIH, AHRQ, and foundation-funded research for 26 years in a variety of sites and contexts, including California, Puerto Rico, and New England. He is currently the Principal Investigator (PI) of four National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 research studies, and he has been the PI of over $25 million in federally-funded research projects over the course of his career. Dr. Ortega previously served in various faculty and leadership positions at UCLA, Yale, and Drexel University. He holds a BA in economics from the University of New Mexico, an MPH in epidemiology & biostatistics from Boston University, and a PhD in epidemiologic science from the University of Michigan.