Ana Seda, SDSU Graduate’s Career in Public Health and Community Service
Ana became involved in the field of public health after finding inspiration from family members who were also professionals in the field and some of whom are living with chronic diseases. As she began to research her interest in public health, she found that there was a growing need for healthcare professionals. She began her career as an intern for the County of San Diego, Health Department of Human Services, and instantly fell in love with her work as she felt that it was providing her with a way to give back to her community. Since then, she has been involved in non-profit organizations focusing on chronic disease and prevention.
She currently works in research related to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. She recently published a research paper titled, “Addressing the disparities in dementia risk, early detection and care in Latino populations: Highlights from the second Latinos & Alzheimer’s Symposium” in Alzheimer’s and Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
She is passionate about working with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias because she finds there is a tremendous amount of work to be done to connect underserved communities into clinical research studies. Throughout her career, she has noticed that current participants in clinical trials have been represented mainly by White caucasians and very few are represented by black, indegenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. She thinks that it is imperative to get BIPOC community participation into clinical trials to learn more about their genetic makeup and how this may impact future therapies and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Ana also currently sits on the Advisory Committee for the Office of Health Equity for the California Department of Public Health. Most recently she also became involved with the HLI (HOPE Leadership Institute) cohort for HOPE (Hispanas for Organized Political Equality). Additionally, she also sits on the Board for the City Heights Community Development Corporation and for the Advisory Committee for the UCSD ACTRI.
