Profile: Monica Perez, PhD

Title(s): Research Associate II

Unit(s): Integrated Behavioral Health, Rio Grande Valley Cancer Health Disparity Research Center, Maternal Health Research Center, Primary and Preventive Care

Contact Info

EREBL 1.204

Monica.Perez@utrgv.edu

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Biography

Dr. Monica Perez is a research psychologist specializing in intervention development and evaluation, with a focus on maternal and behavioral health. She is currently a Research Associate II at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine. Dr. Perez earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Notre Dame, where her research examined the relationship between economic hardship, maternal wellbeing, and adolescent development. She also holds an MA in Developmental Psychology from Notre Dame and a BA in Psychology from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX.

Her research focuses on developing and evaluating psychosocial interventions aimed at improving maternal well-being, parent-child relationships, and mental health outcomes in communities facing adversity. Currently, she is actively involved in projects related to integrated behavioral health, workforce development in primary care, physician wellbeing, and culturally adapted interventions for mothers along the Texas-Mexico border. She also mentors medical students in research related to physician wellbeing and maternal health, fostering their development in these critical topics.

Her work is driven by a commitment to bridging research and practice to enhance the behavioral health of populations facing adversity, with an emphasis on self-compassion and psychological flexibility-based interventions.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and their three dogs. Their home is always full of energy and love as they foster dogs - a reflection of her deep commitment to caring for others.