Research Team
Laura Delfausse
Project Coordinator and Health Educator
Laura Delfausse is a registered and licensed dietitian serving as Health Educator and Project Coordinator at The University of Texas at Austin. She holds an M.S. from Georgia State University and a B.A. from Flagler College. Laura specializes in community nutrition, medical nutrition therapy, and clinical research, focusing on health equity, diabetes education, and overall wellness. At the Latino Research Institute, she serves as a liaison between community partners and develops healthy lifestyle interventions for underserved populations. Additionally, she has established a partnership with the Central Texas Food Bank to provide food across UT campus pantries.
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Jaime Fuentes
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Jaime Fuentes-Balderrama is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Steve Hicks School of Social Work with The University of Texas at Austin where he acts as project manager and senior data analyst for two projects funded by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Fuentes joins the university with six years of teaching experience at both undergraduate and graduate levels, and over ten years of clinical experience. He approaches his work through a strengths-based perspective and his research interests intersect with parenting, Latinx youth mental health; cultural adaptation and therapeutic efficacy of parenting programs, as well as educational attainment in underprivileged groups. Jaime is a graduate of the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City where he attained a Bachelor's in Psychology, a Master's in Community Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Psychological Research.
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Christina Galvan
Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III, Healthy Rural TX
Christina Galvan is the Social Science/Humanities Research Associate III for the Healthy Rural Texas project at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a first-generation graduate, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Social Work at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her educational background centers on direct practice with Latino populations. Her interests include increasing mental health education, awareness, and resources to those in her community. Specifically, those who are survivors of trauma and narcissistic abuse. Previously, she was a part of implementing a newly launched project in the Rio Grande Valley that aimed at providing mental health psychoeducation, processing, and mindfulness to students and families in rural areas. Further, she has experience in individual, family, and group therapy in social service agencies and in academic settings. She was formerly a Research Associate in the Entre Familia project, which aims to increase HPV vaccination among Hispanic adolescents and young adults.
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Renata Morfin
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Assistant II
Renata Morfin is a trilingual Social Sciences and Humanities Research Assistant II at the Latino Research Institute (LRI). She supports a variety of activities related to extramurally funded research, such as recruitment. She also supports the planning and implementation of other research initiatives. Renata obtained her BSA in Neuroscience at The University of Texas at Austin and is passionate about empowering individuals to pursue healthy lifestyles and achieve a better quality of life. Renata has lived in three different counties and enjoys engaging people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds to work together to achieve a common goal
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Krissia Plascencia
Senior Academic Program Coordinator
Dr. Krissia Plascencia is a researcher, writer, and educator. Her research examines educational and health inequities through the experiences of children and young people who translate and explain language and culture for health-related needs. Dr. Plascencia has been published in the Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research, International Migration, and Talking Points. Dr. Plascencia has taught at UC Irvine, UCLA, and Occidental College and was a Provost's Early Career Postdoctoral Fellow at the College of Education at UT Austin. She holds a Ph.D. from the UCLA Graduate School of Education in Urban Schooling and a BA from UC Santa Cruz in Latin American and Latina/o/x Studies.
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Minyu Zhang
Database Coordinator
Minyu Zhang is Database Coordinator at the Latino Research Institute. In addition to her extensive data management experience, she has rigorous training in advanced statistics using primary and secondary datasets. Dr. Zhang earned a PhD in Human Development and Family Sciences and completed a yearlong postdoctoral training program at the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Trained as a quantitative social scientist, she believes that maintaining organized datasets and preserving research data throughout the lifecycle are critical elements in conducting ethical, quality research. She is the LRI’s point of contact for preparing and interpreting database structure and facilitating the efficient use of data for research projects internal and external to the Latino Research Institute.
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