Milagros Rosal

Dr. Rosal is a clinical research psychologist and Professor in the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, and a faculty member in the Ph.D. Program in Clinical and Population Health Research, UMass Chan. She is co-PI of the NIMHD-funded Center for Health Equity Intervention Research (CHEIR), and Associate Director of the CDC-funded Worcester County Prevention Research Center (PRC). The primary goals of Dr. Rosal’s research are to improve scientific knowledge of root causes of health disparities and to develop effective interventions to eliminate them. Dr. Rosal is experienced in randomized clinical trials, observational studies, qualitative methods and community-based participatory research. Her content expertise is in the areas of prevention and management of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease; gestational weight gain and post-partum weight loss; patient adherence to cancer screening recommendations; and influence of psychosocial factors on health behavior change. Dr. Rosal is particularly interested in cultural responsive and literacy sensitive interventions tailored to Latino and African American/Black groups. In reaching these groups, she has collaborated with multiple community organizations including community health centers, senior centers, the YMCA and the Women, Infant and Children’s program (WIC) among others. Consistent with her research interests, Dr. Rosal’s teaching and service activities focus on facilitating the professional development of students and faculty from underrepresented groups as well as students and faculty interested in health disparities research. Dr. Rosal is a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and an active member of the American Heart Association Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism (NPAM) and Epidemiology and Prevention (EPI) Council.