Cristina's Story

Focused on Understanding

Cristina Gomez-Vidal, PhD, MSW, is a UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare graduate and is currently a UC Merced Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Public Health. Her interdisciplinary research bridges public health, social welfare, and public policy, as she investigates the role of governance structures in shaping health outcomes in underserved and unincorporated communities.​

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As a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar alumna, Dr. Gomez-Vidal has a track record of addressing critical health and social inequities. Her current research is funded by the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, where she is developing governance indices to explore the impact of county governance on health outcomes nationwide. Dr. Gomez-Vidal’s research provides actionable insights to improve governance structures and enhance the health outcomes of vulnerable populations, particularly in underserved communities in rural and urban unincorporated communities.