Biography
Dr. Marietta Vázquez is Professor of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases) at the Yale University School of Medicine, Inaugural Vice Chair of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and Director of the Yale-Children’s Hospital Hispanic Clinic. She is the Inaugural Associate Dean of Medical Student Diversity at the Yale School of Medicine, first Latina to be name Associate Dean at Yale School of Medicine. She studies the clinical epidemiology of infectious diseases in children, focusing on studies that assess the efficacy of vaccines as they are used in every-day clinical practice, also known as effectiveness. for multiple vaccines licensed for use in children and in adults. In particular, focusing on how effective a vaccine is overall, how age and other factors such as gender, race and/or ethnicity influence the effectiveness of a vaccine and on the assessment of risk factors for the diseases that each vaccine prevents. Her epidemiological studies have had direct impact on clinical practice. Her studies of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (with a particular interest on how race impacts the vaccine effectiveness) helped shape recommendations during vaccine shortages. Dr. Vázquez is the first Latina to be appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to be a voting member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Dr. Vázquez directed the Yale Pediatrics Global Health track (a training track for pediatrics residents and fellows) and conducts collaborative studies internationally and has developed and directs collaborative projects with the Dominican Republic for the past 15 years. She is interested in culturally-relevant health services interventions for children and families from racial/ethnic minority and low-income backgrounds.
Dr. Vázquez has extensive experience as an advocate for diversity and inclusion and social justice. She has been a leader in advocacy and policy for the rights of immigrant and refugee children in her community and internationally. Seeing education as crucial in her role, she has led multiple educational initiatives on diversity and inclusion within the Department of Pediatrics (for residents, fellows and faculty) on important topics such as unconscious bias, microaggression, anti-racism and equity in the workplace, leading Pediatrics to become the first department within Yale SOM to make diversity training mandatory. She also has been a leader in recruiting and retaining underrepresented minorities in academic programs.
