ABOUT Infectious Love

Natalia Villegas is a bilingual nurse, Bachelor of Nursing and Master of Nursing from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She completed her doctorate in nursing and a postdoctoral fellowship in health disparities at the University of Miami. Currently, she works as an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing. 

​Margarita Diaz Mislan is a Research Assistant at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She currently contributes with two studies in the School of Nursing working on the inclusion of Latina women in the community. Born in Puerto Rico, Margarita obtained her B.A. in Education at the University of Puerto Rico. She continued her studies to complete her Masters in Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling.

Izabel is a Wake Tech student currently working towards an Associate in Arts. She will continue with her studies in the future while experimenting different fields in the arts. She was born in Puerto Rico and came to North Carolina 4 years ago. Izabel is fluent in Spanish and English which has allowed her to expand her opportunities and help the Hispanic community. She enjoys helping people in her community and learning new things everyday.

Jordan A. Caraballo-Vega is a Computer Engineer with the Science Data Processing branch and CISTO Data Science Group at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. His research focuses on the development of software to support science research in the areas of web development, Earth observation, artificial intelligence, computational material science, and high-performance computing.

Jaimie will be completing a Master of Science in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner in May 2023. She has been assisting the research team on Infeccion de Amor since Fall of 2022. She has plans to work in primary care upon graduation, specifically in underserved communities. She is looking forward to implementing insight and skills gained during this research project with her future Latina patients.

Dr. Saif Khairat is Beerstecher-Blackwell Distinguished Term Scholar and associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Khairat holds joint appointments at the Carolina Health Informatics Program, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and the School of Nursing. He is also the Director of the Carolina Applied Informatics Research (CAIR) group.

Clare Barrington is a Professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is the Latin American Programs Director for the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Disease and a fellow at the Carolina Population Center. Dr. Barrington conducts mixed-methods research on social and structural influences on health, in particular HIV and diabetes, with a geographic focus in Latin America.

Dr. Daniel Santisteban is a Clinical Psychologist who received training at Rutgers University (B.S.), University of Miami (Ph.D.), and Bellevue Hospital/NYU (Internship). He is a cofounder and Director of Research for Training and Implementation Associates International and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Miami School of Education and Human Development. His research focuses on adolescent and family therapy, and culturally informed treatments.