Dr. Yvonne Flores is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management and a research scientist at the Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research. She is also a member of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity and the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Additionally, Dr. Flores is an investigator at the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), where she has led numerous bi-national projects since 2000.

Dr. Flores was born in Mexico, where she grew up in a bilingual and bicultural family. She uses her training in Health Services and Epidemiology to conduct research that focuses on the prevention of chronic diseases and reduction of health disparities among underserved populations. Three themes consistently guide her work: (1) a focus on reducing health disparities among Latinos and other minority groups; (2) a transdisciplinary approach to research that incorporates different disciplines and skills to solve complex public health problems; and (3) bi-national collaborations that bring together researchers and students from UCLA with investigators from institutions in Mexico.

Her research includes studies on breast, cervix, and liver cancer, with a focus on risk factors, knowledge and prevention practices, as well as the improvement of screening programs. Other work has focused on hepatitis C screening in Mexico, obesity-related diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver disease, as well as the use of HPV screening and vaccination to prevent cervical cancer. Dr. Flores incorporates different methodological approaches in her research, which include primary data collection, analysis of large data sets (e.g. SEER, NHANES), cost-effectiveness analyses and other types of economic evaluation studies. She also conducts biologically-driven research with clinical and laboratory data to identify molecular and genetic markers for detection and treatment of disease.