Dr. Paula Stigler Granados is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Health and Global Health Division at the SDSU School of Public Health (SPH). She received her Master of Science (MS) degree in Environmental Health Sciences at SDSU and her PhD through the Joint Doctoral Program in Global Health at University of California (UC) San Diego and SDSU. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Granados had the opportunity to work at UT Health San Antonio in their Community Health Practice program where she served as an Assistant Professor for three and a half years later transitioning to the Texas State University Health Administration Program. Dr. Granados studied water issues concerned with fracking in South Texas while working with communities dealing with environmental health issues as a result of fracking. Dr. Granados moved back to San Diego, along with her family, in September 2021 after being chosen for her current position in the Environmental Health and Global Health Division at the SDSU SPH.
Before moving back to San Diego, Dr. Granados was invited to look into Chagas disease within a population of military working dogs in San Antonio, Texas, which led to a grant from CDC to form the Texas Chagas Task Force. The Task Force has engaged with researchers working on Chagas disease to strategize disseminating information to healthcare providers on how to properly screen, address and treat the disease. Dr. Granados continues to work on this grant in San Diego while also working on another grant from the Department of Defense conducting triatomine and Chagas disease surveillance along the US-Mexico border. She is excited to bring her research to California, where there are few people who work on Chagas disease. She emphasizes that Chagas disease is a silent killer, but can be treatable if caught early. Dr. Granados focuses her work primarily on environmental and social justice and is passionate about supporting underserved communities to ensure equitable access to healthcare.