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The Champion of Diversity Award Presented to Dr. Maria Marquine

Maria Marquine with Champion of Diversity Award Plaque

The recipient of the 2016 faculty Champion of Diversity Award is Dr. Maria Marquine. This award, selected by members of the Chair’s Advisory Committee on Diversity Issues, is given to a faculty member who promotes diversity through research, clinical activities, teaching, and community outreach. Dr. Marquine was selected based on her impressive body of work in all of these areas, and was honored at the August General Faculty Meeting of the Psychiatry Department. Before she came to UCSD, Dr. Marquine was a junior faculty member at Rush University in Chicago. While there, she led outreach efforts for research at Rush’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center and was a co-investigator on grants to understand mental health outcomes in minority elders. She also developed a clinical neuropsychology service for Spanish speakers and did many community outreach activities including creating a series of educational videos for Hispanics on Alzheimer’s disease. Since joining our Department, Dr. Marquine has done even more to promote diversity at UCSD and in the community. Her research, supported by an NIMH K award, focuses on understanding factors related to cognitive impairment among older Latinos with and without HIV infection. She also studies successful aging among Latinos, and has maintained a strong publication record in the area of mental health outcomes among Hispanics. She continues to see Spanish-speaking clients at the Neuropsychological Associates Clinic and mentors many trainees including those from under-represented backgrounds. In terms of local and national community activities, she gives talks to Latino groups about NeuroAIDS and serves as a mentor in an APA Ethnic Minority Affairs Program. Dr. Marquine is an active member of our Diversity Committee, and together with her research, clinical, and teaching activities, is a true Champion of Diversity. We are delighted to honor Dr. Marquine’s efforts with this year’s faculty award.