Child & Youth Health

Child and youth health includes physical well-being as well as social and emotional health, all of which are integral for positive academic outcomes. UCSC faculty are especially interested in schools as the primary institutions in the US that serve children and youth in ways that can promote good health outcomes.

As the COVID pandemic has underlined, however, policymakers sometimes create disincentives for health promoting activities in schools. As a result, the health needs of children and youth have become even more acute as adverse experiences such as food insecurity, isolation, family stress, and loss of life have deeply affected the mental health of young people. More research is needed on how these challenges can be overcome as the US looks to a return to in-person schooling.

Some of our faculty are focused on the ways that children and youth in badly affected communities can step into leadership positions and be empowered to enact change through research and collective action. Others are interested in how local government and community-based organizations can help mitigate the wider structural failings (including systemic racism) that leave so many children in America vulnerable to ill-health.

Margarita Azmitia

• Pronouns
  • she, her, her, hers, herself
• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Psychology Department
• Campus Email
  • azmitia@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Child and Adolescent Development

Valerie Cortez

• Pronouns
  • she, her, her, hers, herself
• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Department
  • Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology Department
• Campus Email
  • vccortez@ucsc.edu

Lindsay Hinck

• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology Department
• Campus Email
  • lhinck@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Developmental Biology

Regina Day Langhout

• Pronouns
  • she, her, her, hers, herself
• Title
  • Professor
• Department
  • Psychology Department
• Campus Email
  • langhout@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Community-based Research

Richard Li

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Department
  • Statistics
• Campus Email
  • zli439@ucsc.edu

Rebecca A London

• Pronouns
  • she, her, her, hers, herself
• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • Sociology Department
• Campus Email
  • rlondon@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Schools and Academic Achievement

Juan Manuel Pedroza

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Department
  • Sociology Department
• Campus Email
  • j.pedroza@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Sociology

Jennifer Maytorena Taylor

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Department
  • Film and Digital Media Department
• Campus Email
  • jtaylo5@ucsc.edu

Sofie Reda Salama

• Pronouns
  • she, her, her, hers, herself
• Title
  • Acting Professor of Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology
• Department
  • Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology Department
• Campus Email
  • ssalama@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Biomedical Sciences

Upasna Sharma

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Department
  • Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology Department
• Campus Email
  • upsharma@ucsc.edu

Don Smith

• Pronouns
  • he, him, his, his, himself
• Title
  • Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, Distinguished Professor
• Department
  • Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology Department
• Campus Email
  • drsmith@ucsc.edu
• Faculty Areas of Expertise
  • Biomedical Sciences