Bertha Hidalgo

Bertha Hidalgo is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), holding a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology. She also serves as Associate Scientist or Scientist in multiple centers including the Center for AIDS Research, Comprehensive Arthritis & Musculoskeletal Center, and Nutrition Obesity Research Center. Her academic background includes a PhD in Epidemiology (UAB, 2012) and MPH from the University of Southern California (2007).

Dr. Hidalgo's research focuses on genetic epidemiology, health disparities, and cardiovascular disease mechanisms. Key themes include social determinants of health, multi-ancestry genetic risk modeling, and epigenetic biomarkers for chronic conditions like CKD and metabolic syndrome. She leads initiatives addressing diversity in clinical trials and workforce equity in STEM, particularly for underrepresented groups.

Her recent work includes over 100 peer-reviewed articles, with 2025 publications exploring social-genetic interactions in cardiovascular health and comorbid GERD/COPD genetics. Notable contributions include developing polygenic risk scores for CKD in Black populations and epigenetic risk models for metabolic syndrome.

As an educator, Dr. Hidalgo mentors over 10 PhD students and teaches courses in quantitative epidemiology and clinical research. She chairs thesis committees and collaborates across disciplines through UAB's TOPMed program, focusing on genomic sequencing and multi-ethnic health studies.

Her professional service includes roles in the American Heart Association, CTSA DEIA Task Force, and leadership in diversity initiatives at UAB. She advocates for equitable research practices and translational science bridging genomic discoveries to clinical applications.