Natalia Palacios

Affiliations

• Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Visiting Scientist, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Research Collaborator, UMass Chan Medical School
• Active Research Appointment, Department of Veterans Affairs

Education

Sc.D. in Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Research Interests

Dr. Palacios leads NIH-funded studies on the gut microbiome’s role in neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s/Alzheimer’s), metabolomics, and brain health. Her work integrates multi-omics data and focuses on underrepresented populations, particularly Latino communities. Key areas:

• Microbiome Research: Longitudinal studies on microbiome changes pre-diagnosis in PD patients
• Veterans Health: Modeling AD prevalence and care trajectories in VA systems
• Latino Health: Multi-factorial studies on diet, environment, and disparities in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study

Publications Trends

Recent work emphasizes microbiome-brain interactions, cognitive decline biomarkers, and environmental risk factors. Over 30 peer-reviewed articles span epidemiological methods, neurodegenerative diseases, and public health disparities.

Awards & Teaching

• 2021 Teaching Excellence Award, UMass Lowell Public Health Department
• Course instructor: Advanced Regression Modeling, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics

Labs & Collaborations

Active collaborations with Harvard, VA Research, and the Study of Latinos. Lab seeks students with biostatistics/mathematics expertise for projects in data analytics and omics integration.