Dr. Diaz-Santos is from Villas de Loíza, Canóvanas Puerto Rico. She attended public schools with supportive teachers who believed in their students. During middle school, she was mentored to apply to a science and math program at Berwind High School (San Juan). La Escuela Superior de Berwind is where she learned about her passion for science and psychology.

With a clear sense for the importance of kind-authentic mentorship and sponsorship for Latino/a/x trainees, Dr. Díaz-Santos began her journey as the Chair of the Mentoring and Education Committee in January 2020. She and her committee members re-launched the Mentoring Program during the Fall of 2019 with the vision of fostering connections “a la distancia” via mentoring-pairing, peer-to-peer mentoring, and an virtual educational program to engage the whole HNS community in the topics of mentoring, sponsorship, scholarly identity, and professional currency. 

Dr. Díaz-Santos is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine. She is the current Director of Research for the Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence and Research Psychologist at the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research. By training, she is a neuropsychologist with an expertise in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias working primarily with the Latino/a older adult community. Her clinical-research program focuses on: 1) engaging in community outreach programs to increase knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease, comorbid medical conditions, and healthy aging; and 2) collaborating with community organizations and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) academic centers to improve access to culturally and linguistically congruent assessment, treatment, and research.

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology – Boston University
• Post-doctoral fellowships (UCLA) – Medical Psychological Assessment Clinical/Cultural Neuropsychology Program (clinical neuropsychology); Human Connectome Project: Aging and the Depression Grand Challenge (research) 
• Member, National Academy of Neuropsychology Culture and Diversity Committee
• Publications available for review via Google Scholar

Dr. Díaz-Santos loves dancing, karaoke, and hiking, as well as spending virtual time exercising and/or singing with her nephews and niece who live in Puerto Rico.