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Dr. Lopez Vera is an Assistant Professor of Medical Education and the Director of the Medical Spanish program (Vida) at the California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), where she prepares future physicians to provide culturally-sensitive, high-quality care to Hispanic patients. Additionally, she creates and teaches medical Spanish courses for Residents and mentors other scholars on effective methodologies for teaching medical Spanish courses. Her research interests are centered around enhancing linguistic and racial concordant healthcare quality for underserved populations. Her academic background includes a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Public Health from Claremont Graduate University.