Dr. Francisco García, Division of Health Promotion Sciences, UA College of Public Health

Francisco García, MD, MPH, director of the UA Center of Excellence in Women’s Health and co-director of the Cancer Disparities Institute of the Arizona Cancer Center, has been appointed to serve on the Committee on Preventative Services for Women of the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine (IOM). This committee will be making recommendations for services to be covered by the U.S. Department of Health as part of healthcare reform.

The expert committee will review what preventive services are necessary for women’s health and well-being and should be considered in the development of comprehensive guidelines for preventive services for women. The committee also will provide guidance on a process for regularly updating the preventive screenings and services to be considered.

Dr. García is section chair of Family and Child Health in the Division of Health Promotion Sciences of the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and is a UA Distinguished Outreach Professor of public health, obstetrics and gynecology, pharmacy and Mexican-American studies. He is the immediate past director of and principal investigator for the Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence and is the former director of the UA College of Medicine Division of Gynecology. His research expertise is in the area of pre-malignant cervical disease and human papilloma virus infection and the evaluation of new technologies and therapeutics for cervical cancer precursors. He also has a longstanding interest in the health of women on the U.S.-Mexico border.