Victor Florez-Garcia, PhD
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Bridge to Faculty Postdoctoral Research Associate
Pronouns: He/Him
About
Victor Florez-Garcia is a researcher and educator specializing in public health and epidemiology. He holds a master’s degree in Epidemiology from the Universidad CES and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Universidad de Sucre. He recently completed his PhD in Environmental Health Sciences (Epidemiology Track) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where his dissertation focused on the impacts of real-world exposure to mixtures of toxic and nutrient metals on child cognition in Mexico City. This dissertation looked to examine the relationship between pre and postnatal mental exposures and children’s intellectual functioning in the Mexican context while including new methodological approaches to incorporate all the available biomarker information from a longitudinal birth cohort study.
Victor has been an Assistant Professor at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, where he also served as a methodologist and advisor in the Department of Public Health. His research interests include children's cognition, environmental health, and metal exposure in migrant Latinx communities. Victor's contributions extend beyond academia, as he has been a co-investigator on various projects, including the ASCUS, PRECAMA, and Migration projects, as well as a consultant for health departments and PAHO in his native country. His dedication to public health and epidemiology has earned him recognition as a significant figure in his field, both in Colombia and internationally. Notably, his work on the association between air pollution and suicide and the analysis of cadmium and breast cancer underscores his commitment to addressing critical public health issues. Victor also is utilizing the last generation of methods in epidemiology to disentangle the complexity of mixtures in his research.