My interest in public health emerged from my desire to apply my analytical skills to serve the under-studied and vulnerable populations on the U.S.-Mexico border and Texas focusing on drug use and sexual behaviors.

• Leadership in the Community - Borderland Rainbow Center (BRC) and Latino Commission on AIDS (10/12/2023)
• CHS Graduate Marshal of Students - UTEP College of Health Sciences (CHS) (12/01/2022-12/31/2022)
• LGBTQ+ Border Heroes Cards: Honoring LGBTQ+ Leaders and Influencers of the Borderland - Borderland Rainbow Center (BRC), Diversity and Resiliency Institute of El Paso (01/01/2021-12/31/2021)
• Pride Constituent - Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (06/28/2020)
• University Service Award, 10 Years of Service - UT El Paso (03/03/2020)
• Recognition at Posada Trans 2018 - Transgender Community of Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua (12/02/2018)
• Research Engagement Advisory Council, TransFORWARD - TransFORWARD (10/29/2018)
• Grand Marshal, El Paso Sun City Pride Parade - El Paso Sun City Pride (06/02/2018)
• Pillars of Public Health Award - City of El Paso, Department of Public Health (01/16/2018)
• Nominated for the Path Builder for the Department of Public Health - Department of Public Health (12/20/2017)
• 2015-2016 Health Related Organization of the Year, UTEP Student Organization Leadership Awards, Students for Public Health (SPH) - UTEP Student Engagement & Leadership Center (SELC) and the Student Government Association (SGA) (04/30/2016)
• 2015-2016 Student Organization of the Year for the College of Health Sciences, UTEP Student Organization Leadership Awards, Students for Public Health (SPH) - UTEP Student Engagement & Leadership Center (SELC) and the Student Government Association (SGA) (04/30/2016)
• 2016-2017 UTEP Student Engagement and Leadership Center, Gold Standard Organization, Students for Public Health (SPH) - UTEP Student Engagement & Leadership Center (SELC) and the Student Government Association (SGA) (04/30/2016)
• Recognition Reception, Community Activities Program 2015, Consul Jacob Prado - Mexican Consulate of El Paso (04/28/2016)
• 2016 UTEP Honors Convocation - Honor Society of the UTEP CHS (04/17/2016)
• UTEP College of Health Sciences, Research and Travel Award ($500) - UTEP College of Health Sciences Research and Travel Committee (10/02/2015)
• Community Engagement Award - Department of Public Health Sciences (05/07/2015)
• 2015 Straight Ally Faculty Award - 8th Annual Rainbow Graduation Reception (05/02/2015)
• Graduate Research Award - 8th Annual Rainbow Graduation Reception (05/02/2015)
• 2014-2015 Collegiate Organization of the Year for the College of Health Sciences, UTEP Student Leadership Awards, Students for Public Health (SPH) - UTEP Student Engagement & Leadership Center (SELC) and the Student Government Association (SGA) (04/25/2015)
• NIDA Women & Sex/Gender Differences Junior Investigator Travel Award ($1000) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (04/02/2015)
• Campus Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives (COURI) Provost's Summer 2014 Student Research Assistant Program - UTEP Provost’s Office (05/20/2014)
• NIDA Summer Institute Tuition Scholarship recipient for the 2014 Summer Institute on Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) (€1350) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (04/14/2014)
• 2013 Interdisciplinary Research Training Institute (IRTI) for Hispanic Drug Abuse, Fellow - National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN) on Drug Abuse and National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) (06/01/2013-06/30/2013)
• CHS Nomination for the UTEP 2013 Outstanding Thesis Award - Department of Public Health Sciences (02/01/2013-02/28/2013)
• CHS Honors Reception, Public Health Sciences Honoree, hosted by Dr. Kathleen A. Curtis, Dean of the College of Health Sciences - Department of Public Health Sciences (12/01/2012-12/31/2012)
• CHS Honors Reception, Public Health Sciences Honoree, hosted by Dr. Kathleen A. Curtis, Dean of the College of Health Sciences - Department of Public Health Sciences (05/01/2012-05/31/2012)
• Honors Award Recipient - Department of Public Health Sciences (05/01/2012-05/31/2012)
• Fellowship Travel Award ($800) - Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC) (04/23/2012)
• 2nd Place Team, Students for Public Health (SPH) - AIDS WALK EL PASO 2011 "Band together, Walk together" (10/22/2011)
• Achievers Award Nominee - Western Association of Educational Opportunity Personnel (WESTOP) (01/01/2010-12/31/2010)
• SGA Miners Planting Globally Award, Students for Public Health (SPH) - Student Government Association (SGA), “Think Globally, Act Locally / Miners Planting Globally!” (10/10/2010)
• Summer Research Training Institute on Hispanic Drug Abuse, Fellow - National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN) and National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) (06/01/2007-06/30/2007)
• Diversity Supplement Recipient - NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (08/01/2006-08/31/2006)
• Doctoral Student Award Recipient - San Diego Fellowship Program (08/01/2005-08/31/2005)

• Ph D in Public Health (Epidemiology), U.C. San Diego & San Diego State University (2009)
• MA in Statistics, U.C. Santa Barbara (2001)
• BS in Mathematics, U.C. Santa Barbara (1998)

• Development and pilot of an interdisciplinary health education program to address health disparities for gender-diverse persons at the U.S./Mexico border International Journal of Transgender Health (2024), Brandon M. Merritt, Oralia Loza, Patricia Lara, Christopher G. Medlin, Andi Tiscareno.
• Understanding the Experiences of Latinx LGBTQ Texans at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic Journal of Homosexuality 71 10 (2024), Armin Dorri, Oralia Loza, Mark A. Bond, Erica Ciszek, Yona Elias-Curry, Sheridan Aguilar, Paul Fliedner, Aliza Norwood, Amy L. Stone, M. Brett Cooper, Vanessa Schick, J. Michael Wilkerson Jr., Paige P. Wermuth, Robert A. Yockey, Phillip Schnarrs.
• Impulsivity, Sexual Compulsivity, and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Hispanic Men Who Have Sex with Men in a U.S.–Mexico Border City Issues in Mental Health Nursing 43 12 (2022), Bibiana M. Mancera, Elias Elias Provencio-Vasquez, Oralia Loza, Joseph P. De Santis.
• Gender Differences in Methamphetamine Use Initiation and Trajectory of Use Among People Who Use Methamphetamine in a Mexico-U.S. Border City Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment 20 4 (2021), Oralia Loza, Priscilla Guevara, Amir G. Hernandez.
• Impact of name change and gender marker correction on identity documents to structural factors and harassment among transgender and gender diverse people in Texas Sexuality, Gender & Policy 4 2 (2021), Oralia Loza, Oscar Beltran, Adri Perez, Jamison Green.

• Police Shootings: A Public Health Problem for the United States of America (2024), Volume San Francisco, CA, Robert Duran, Oralia Loza.
• Panel II: State Crime and Police Violence: The scope, its landscape, and its discourses. (2024), Volume Bogota, Colombia, Robert Duran, Oralia Loza.
• Moderated Panel: Debunking the War on Drugs - The Importance of Harm Reduction (2024), Volume Mexico City, Laura Guzman, Nathan Smiddy, Oralia Loza, Alex H. Kral.
• An Interdisciplinary Educational Approach to Address Gender Diverse Health Disparities in a Predominantly Hispanic/Latinx Community (2023), Volume Boston, MA, Brandon M. Merritt, Patricia Lara, Sofia Carranza, Ariadna Hernandez, Oralia Loza.
• An Interdisciplinary Health Education Program to Address Gender Diverse Health Inequity in an Underserved, Predominantly Hispanic/Latinx community – Lessons Learned (2023), Volume El Paso, TX, Brandon M. Merritt, Christopher G. Medlin, June Contreras, Lori Silva-Edwards, Oralia Loza.

• Collaborative Research: How Does Non-Parental Relatives Support Impact the Housing Stability and Safety of LGBTQ Youth Over Time and into Young Adulthood?
• An Interdisciplinary, Health Education Program to Address Gender Minority Health Inequity in an Underserved, Predominantly Hispanic/Latinx Community
• Preventing Suicide among Sexual and Gender Diverse Young Adults in Primary Care in Texas