About

Cecilia Rosales, MD, MS, is an associate dean and professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health in Phoenix. She is a native Tucsonan with a comprehensive background in public health, epidemiology, and medicine. Dr. Rosales has demonstrated outstanding expertise in program development, public health administration, policy, and health disparities research, particularly related to the Southwest and border region. Her work includes collaboration with El Colegio de Sonora and the Secretaria de Salud de Sonora on a National Institutes of Health RO1 grant aimed at reducing cardiovascular disease and diabetes complications in Mexico, with efforts to scale interventions to the national level. She has also been awarded a grant by the Mexico Section of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission to develop and implement a primary prevention mobile unit to improve health access and promote healthy lifestyles among the Latino population in Maricopa County. Dr. Rosales convenes and works with interprofessional students and faculty from the UA Health Sciences in Phoenix to provide outreach services to underserved residents. She is a member of the Academic Technical Council of the Binational Border Health Network and serves as the private sector co-chair of the Health Services Committee of the Arizona-Mexico Commission. Her research and practice focus on strengthening public health infrastructure, addressing health disparities, and fostering binational and community-based participatory research and collaboration in the border region. Her extensive experience, innovative strategies, and deep understanding of the regional context have contributed significantly to public health efforts on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Nursing
• Environmental health
• Psychiatry
• Pediatrics
• Physical therapy
• Endocrinology
• Psychology
• Family medicine
• Social psychology
• Intensive care medicine
• Gerontology
• Clinical psychology
• Pathology

Selected publications

• EXPOSURES, MICROBES, AND ASTHMA-RELATED SYMPTOMS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE IN CHILDREN BORN IN TUCSON, AZ AND NOGALES, MX: BEAMS

  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2026-02-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Longitudinal Nephrotoxic Metal Exposure in a Cohort of Farm Workers in Sonora, Mexico

  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine · 2025-08-19

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Metal exposure among farmworkers along the US-Mexico border is understudied, despite links between certain metals and kidney injury or disease. We assessed seasonal metal exposure in agricultural workers in Sonora, Mexico, compared to office workers and other populations. METHODS: Adult male agricultural and office workers provided urine samples and demographic data at the start and end of the work season. Urine was analyzed for specific gravity, creatinine, and metal(loid) concentrations. RESULTS: Agricultural workers had significantly higher urinary arsenic, lead, nickel, and uranium than office workers. Uranium increased over time, whereas arsenic, lead, and nickel declined. Urinary metal levels exceeded those in NHANES Mexican Americans, with cadmium levels similar to other farmworker populations but higher arsenic and uranium. CONCLUSIONS: Findings enhance understanding of regional exposure, support global farmworker comparisons, and inform exposure modeling, mitigation strategies, and policy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Longitudinal associations and interactions of heat and metal(loid) exposure with kidney outcomes in Mexican agricultural workers

  Environmental Research · 2025-08-06 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Longitudinal Nephrotoxic Metal Exposure in a Cohort of Farm Workers in Sonora, Mexico

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Neighborhood ethnic density and disparities in proximal blood donation opportunities

  Transfusion · 2024-04-25 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Despite being the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States, Hispanic/Latinos (H/L) are significantly underrepresented among blood donors. A lack of proximal blood donation opportunities may be one factor contributing to these disparities. However, few studies have investigated this possibility. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Proprietary data on mobile blood collections in Maricopa County, Arizona, were gathered for the period of January 01, 2022 to April 30, 2022 and paired with census tract information using ArcGIS. Maricopa County encompasses the city of Phoenix with a total population of approximately 4.5 million people, including 1.5 million H/L residents. Blood drive count was regressed on H/L ethnic density and total population, and model estimates were exponentiated to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: During the specified period, approximately 27,000 red blood cell units were collected through mobile drives. Consistent with expectations, when controlling for total neighborhood population, each 10% increase in H/L ethnic density lowered the odds of having a blood drive in the corresponding neighborhood by 12% (OR = 0.88, 95% CI (0.83, 0.92), p < .001). DISCUSSION: These findings provide initial evidence of fewer proximal donation opportunities in areas with greater H/L population density which may contribute to H/L underrepresentation in blood donation and the need for more inclusive collection efforts. Improved access to blood collection is modifiable and could help to increase the overall blood supply, enhance the ability to successfully match specific blood antigen needs of an increasingly diverse population, and bring about a more resilient blood system.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• La experiencia en el diseño y evaluación de la capacitación del programa Meta Salud Diabetes

  Enfermería Universitaria · 2024-09-17

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Introducción: Las enfermedades del corazón y la diabetes mellitus representan la primera y tercera causa de muerte en México. La OMS recomienda implementar y evaluar programas innovadores encaminados a proporcionar herramientas que modifiquen conductas y eviten complicaciones, mejorando la comprensión de las personas con diabetes en torno a su condición de salud. El Meta Salud Diabetes (MSD) es un programa educativo para la prevención secundaria de diabetes con un enfoque constructivista. Objetivo: Describir la evaluación y capacitación del personal de salud para el manejo del Meta Salud Diabetes. Desarrollo: La capacitación del MSD se impartió a 34 profesionales de la salud responsables de los Grupos de Ayuda Mutua (GAM), entre ellos el 35.2 % fueron profesionales de enfermería. El procedimiento consistió en la exposición y réplica de las actividades del MSD sustentadas en la teoría salutogénica como el trasfondo teórico con el que fue diseñado. La estrategia didáctica incluyó herramientas y habilidades dirigidas a incentivar el rol participativo de los GAM. La capacitación se evaluó por medio de un proceso reflexivo y cualitativo con metodología constructivista formativa. Conclusiones: La evaluación del proceso de capacitación para implementar el MSD permitió identificar dificultades como la ausencia de capacitación para el personal de salud en temas preventivos y la falta de herramientas para implementar técnicas educativas participativas. Describir la experiencia y evaluación de este proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje participativo contribuye a mejorar programas como el MSD y a la discusión sobre la formación continua de profesionales de salud.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Environmental and structural factors associated with bacterial diversity in household dust across the Arizona-Sonora border

  Scientific Reports · 2024-06-04 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  We previously reported that asthma prevalence was higher in the United States (US) compared to Mexico (MX) (25.8% vs. 8.4%). This investigation assessed differences in microbial dust composition in relation to demographic and housing characteristics on both sides of the US-MX Border. Forty homes were recruited in the US and MX. Home visits collected floor dust and documented occupants' demographics, asthma prevalence, housing structure, and use characteristics. US households were more likely to have inhabitants who reported asthma when compared with MX households (30% vs. 5%) and had significantly different flooring types. The percentage of households on paved roads, with flushing toilets, with piped water and with air conditioning was higher in the US, while dust load was higher in MX. Significant differences exist between countries in the microbial composition of the floor dust. Dust from Mexican homes was enriched with Alishewanella, Paracoccus, Rheinheimera genera and Intrasporangiaceae family. A predictive metagenomics analysis identified 68 significantly differentially abundant functional pathways between US and MX. This study documented multiple structural, environmental, and demographic differences between homes in the US and MX that may contribute to significantly different microbial composition of dust observed in these two countries.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Street Medicine as Service Learning: Lessons from a Needs Assessment Conducted by Medical Students

  MedEdPublish · 2024-07-15 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  <ns3:p>Background The homeless population is growing across the United States, particularly in urban areas. Oftentimes, there is a disconnect between existing community services and actual needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. These services gaps are frequently identified by needs assessments and utilized by community agencies to inform outreach efforts and program development. Community outreach by medical students through participation in community-based service learning projects is critically important for the preparation of future physicians to care for underserved and vulnerable populations. This study describes the stepwise approach taken by medical students to design and administer a needs assessment for the purpose of informing the development of a new street medicine program. This study is intended to serve as a guide to students who aspire to launch a new street medicine program but is generalizable to other student-led service learning outreaches. Methods We conducted a needs assessment from April-June 2018 of 144 unsheltered homeless individuals in metro Phoenix, Arizona. The 16-question survey investigated perceptions of priority needs, sources of medical care, health literacy, and health status. Survey results were analyzed using Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test, chi-squared analysis, and multivariable logistic regression. Results Most respondents (91.6%) identified food as a top need. The majority (64.1%) utilized Emergency Departments as their primary source of care, and 40.1% reported suboptimal health. Suboptimal health was more likely to be reported in those who expressed transportation (OR 3.03, 95% CI: 1.30-7.07) as a top priority need. Health illiteracy (OR 3.68, 95% CI: 0.76-17.9) was associated with suboptimal health, as was obtaining care at an Emergency Department (OR 2.05, 95% CI: 0.81-5.25). Conclusions Pairing health care with meals and other primary needs may be an effective strategy to increase service utilization by this population. Needs assessments provide an opportunity for health professional students to learn about social needs and more effectively connect patients with services from community agencies and health care organizations.</ns3:p>

  PublisherDOI

• Arsenic mobilization in aquifer sediments in the southwest USA

  2024-01-09

  book-chapterOpen access

  The city of Midland, TX is prone to drought and has resorted to the use of groundwater to meet its water demand. However, due to naturally occurring arsenic in aquifer sediments, arsenic concentrations in the extracted groundwater are often above the US EPA maximum contaminant limit of 10 µg/L. The aim of this study is to identify biogeochemical factors which control the mobilization of arsenic from the sediment to the groundwater. Aquifer sediments were collected at a well site up to a depth of 643 ft. Geological and total elemental analyses using XRF and ICPMS indicated co-occurrence of As and Fe, along with S in certain sediment strata. Arsenic speciation and microbial community analyses will be performed to identify the driving factors of As mobilization.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Nicotine and Alcohol Use as Predictors of Recreational Cannabis Use in Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

  Substance Use & Misuse · 2024-04-24 · 2 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  Current evidence suggests an association between nicotine-product use and subsequent recreational cannabis use among adolescents. However, further research is needed to establish causality between exposure to nicotine substances and the use of recreational cannabis within this age demographic. Additionally, there is a need for the development of prevention programs and targeted policies that continuously inform and update this vulnerable sub-population about the risks associated with cannabis use for leisure.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant P60MD000155

  NIH · $7.7M · 2010

• NIH Grant R21OH008747

  NIH · $330k · 2008

• Tools and Practices to Decrease CVD and Complications in the Diabetic Population of Mexico

  NIH · $2.4M · 2015–2021

• Tools and Practices to Decrease CVD and Complications in the Diabetic Population of Mexico

  NIH · $741k · 2015–2020

• Recruitment, Data Collection & Sample Management Core

  NIH · $24.5M · 2020–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Jill Guernsey de Zapien

  22 shared

• Maia Ingram

  University of Arizona

  20 shared

• John E. Ehiri

  University of Arizona

  19 shared

• Scott C. Carvajal

  University of Arizona

  17 shared

• Catalina A. Denman

  11 shared

• Gudelia Rangel

  10 shared

• Lisa K. Staten

  Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

  9 shared

• Samantha Sabo

  Northern Arizona University

  8 shared

Awards & honors

• Ending Pandemics Academy
• Sigma Phi Omega Indigenous Health
• IndigiWellbeing Program
• Ventanillas de Salud (Windows to Health)
• 25th Anniversary Gala