Bernadette Boden-Albala

Dr. Bernadette Boden-Albala serves as the Founding Dean and Director of the UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health within the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences. She holds professorships in the Department of Health, Society, and Behavior (School of Population & Public Health) and the Department of Neurology (School of Medicine) at the University of California, Irvine. As an internationally recognized expert in social epidemiology, her work focuses on cardiovascular disease and stroke disparities through the lens of social determinants, including race-ethnicity, socioeconomic status, stress, and social networks.

Her research portfolio includes community-level health assessments, large-scale serosurveillance projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, and interventions to improve minority participation in clinical trials. She leads the National Initiative for Minority Involvement in Neurological Clinical Trials, which has enhanced enrollment of women and racial minorities in such studies.

Recent publications highlight her expertise in stroke prevention, pandemic response strategies, and health equity frameworks. She has been recognized as a Community Hero by the Greater Irvine Chamber (2020) for her pandemic leadership, including developing bilingual contact tracing programs in Orange County.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Community Hero, Greater Irvine Chamber (2020)