Lea Sacca

Lea Sacca, Ph.D., M.P.H., serves as Assistant Professor of Population Health at Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, where she advances evidence-based interventions for maternal, women's, and child health. Previously, she completed a Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP postdoctoral fellowship at Florida International University's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.

Her academic foundation includes a Ph.D. in Health Promotion Behavioral Sciences (2021) and M.P.H. (2019) from UTHealth Houston, complemented by certificates in Refugee Health and Global Health (2018). She earned her B.S. in Public Health and Development Sciences from Lebanon's University of Balamand (2017).

• 2021: Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
• 2019: M.P.H., University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
• 2018: Certificate in Refugee Health, Unite for Sight
• 2018: Certificate in Global Health, Unite for Sight
• 2017: B.S., University of Balamand, Lebanon
• 2021-2022: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Florida International University

Dr. Sacca's research targets cancer prevention, substance use, and mental health disparities through community-engaged implementation science. Her work prioritizes refugee populations and underserved communities, emphasizing culturally responsive interventions that address structural barriers to care while integrating social determinants of health frameworks.

Her 2025 publications reveal expanding focus on workforce diversity in community health, perinatal mental health access, and period poverty through rigorous scoping reviews and mixed-methods studies. These works consistently apply implementation mapping to translate evidence into practice, particularly for cervical cancer screening and digital health interventions in marginalized groups.

Notable recognitions include the Fulbright Scholarship (2017-2019) and multiple UTHealth Houston awards such as the Eugene H. Vaughan Endowed Scholarship. She maintains Delta Omega Honorary Public Health Society membership (2019, 2021) and received the James Emerson Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.

• Fulbright Scholarship for MPH studies (2017-2019)
• Delta Omega Honorary Public Health Society (2019, 2021)
• UTHealth Scholarships: Vaughan Endowment, Bartholomew Eldredge, SIC Academic Achievement
• Dean's Honor List, University of Balamand (2014-2017)

As former Houston Global Health Collaborative board member, she spearheaded refugee health initiatives while securing competitive education funding. Her grant portfolio includes Fulbright support and UTHealth scholarships enabling refugee health research in Lebanon and food insecurity interventions during COVID-19. Current projects address CHW workforce development and digital menstrual health tools.

Dr. Sacca collaborates with Native American communities through the Healthy Native Youth Implementation Toolbox and partners with Middle Eastern refugee organizations. Her lab integrates implementation science with community-based participatory research to co-design interventions with affected populations.