Elizabeth Lorenzo

Elizabeth Lorenzo, PhD, RN, serves as an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, where she is affiliated with the Graduate Studies PhD Program. Her research focuses on women's health disparities, particularly among Hispanic and Filipino populations, with emphasis on menopause, physical activity, and cardiometabolic health across the lifespan.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation from Arizona State University and a BSN from the University of Michigan-Flint. She holds prestigious fellowships including the ORBIT Fellow (Cohort 3, 2025) and The Menopause Society Research Mentorship Program (2024-2026).

Dr. Lorenzo's research program centers on health disparities in minority women, employing the socioecological model to examine physical activity, telomere biology, and nutritional interventions. Her work bridges clinical nursing with community-based participatory research, particularly through the Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE) initiative targeting childhood obesity. She investigates race-specific variations in cardiometabolic risk and develops culturally tailored interventions for Hispanic women during menopausal transition.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trajectory in systematic reviews addressing menopause education, physical activity interventions for Hispanic women, and telomere-length relationships with health outcomes. Her work increasingly incorporates mixed-methods approaches examining both biological mechanisms and socioecological barriers, with significant focus on community-engaged solutions for health disparities.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Beverly and F.A. (Andy) Odom Endowment for Nursing Research Award (2024)
• Class of 1963 Faculty Recruitment, Retention and Research Award (2022)
• Jonas Scholar Nurse Leader Cohort (2016-2018)
• Society of Behavioral Medicine Meritious Student Abstract Award (2016)

As an active mentor, Dr. Lorenzo serves as a TMS Mentee in the Research Mentorship Program (2024-2026). Her substantial grant funding includes an NIH R01 from NIA (2024-2029) for physical activity interventions in midlife Hispanic women, DFPS program evaluation, and UTMB Pepper Center Scholar funding. She has secured competitive awards from SNRS and the Jeane B. Kempner Fellowship supporting telomere-length research in cardiovascular health.

Dr. Lorenzo actively contributes to the UTMB Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health and leads the SAGE initiative, which implements garden-based education in early care centers to improve preschool children's locomotor skills and nutrition through parent engagement and environmental modification.