معرفی
Cristina Risco is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland-College Park, jointly appointed with the First-Year Innovation & Research Experience (FIRE) program in the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, and the Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory in the Department of Psychology. She leads the FIRE Stream in Addiction Science, offering first-year students multi-semester research mentorship. Her research focuses on addressing racial/ethnic health disparities through socio-cultural contributors to substance use and risk behaviors, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Dr. Risco earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Maryland-College Park and a BS in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Florida. Her work integrates clinical, research, and educational roles, emphasizing culturally responsive interventions and health equity.
Her research interests span racial discrimination's impact on mental and behavioral health, addiction science, and culturally tailored preventive interventions. Recent studies explore resilience factors in marginalized communities and mobile health applications for depression treatment in Latinx populations.
Grants include NIH awards as Principal Investigator, focusing on racial discrimination and risk behavior, socio-cultural determinants of health, and minority stress. She also teaches courses like First-Year Innovation & Research Experience and Psychology of Human Sexuality.
Dr. Risco’s contributions bridge academia and community practice, prioritizing mentorship of first-year students and advancing equity in mental health research and care.
