Biography

Ninez A. Ponce, PhD, MPP (BS UC Berkeley; MPP Harvard; PhD UCLA), is a Professor and Endowed Chair at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and Principal Investigator for the California Health Interview Survey, the largest state survey in the U.S. Dr. Ponce is an elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and has served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Health Statistics. She has contributed to committees for the National Academy of Medicine and the National Quality Forum, focusing on using social drivers of health to monitor health equity. Recognized for her community-engaged research, she and her team received the AcademyHealth Impact Award in 2019. In 2022, she served on the RWJF Commission to Transform Public Health Data and won the Elizabeth Fries Prize for Health Education from the CDC Foundation in 2024. She also received the Inclusive Voices Award from the American Association of Public Opinion Research. Dr. Ponce is currently Associate Editor at JAMA Health Forum and serves on the editorial boards of Milbank Quarterly, Health Services Research, and Health Affairs Scholar and the executive board of AcademyHealth.

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