Researcher Named 2022 Health Care Hero

The Atlanta Business Chronicle has named assistant professor Roxana Chicas, 16N, 20PhD, as one of its Health Care Heroes for 2022. She won the award in the Rising Star category.

Chicas came to the United States from El Salvador at age four, crossing the Rio Grande on her mother’s shoulders. Undocumented, she later received temporary protective status that allowed her to work at a pediatrician’s office — the beginning of a journey that led to earning bachelor's and doctoral degrees from the School of Nursing and an appointment to the faculty.

Fueled by her experiences, Chicas uses nursing science to increase research inclusiveness through engagement with and empowerment of farmworker communities. She conducted the first field-based intervention study of methods to reduce the risk of heat-related illness using biomonitoring equipment among farmworkers. She also launched the first field-based study to test hydration interventions in the same group.

Additionally, Chicas works with School of Nursing professor Vicki Hertzberg, PhD, FASA, an internationally recognized expert on the impact of big data on health care.