Whitney Cordoba

Whitney is a doctoral candidate in Epidemiology, with a concentration in Mental Health and Substance Use. Her research explores the role of health behaviors—such as exercise and cigarette use—in the prevention and management of psychiatric disorders. Her doctoral thesis will expand the global Alzheimer’s Disease research portfolio by examining the association between cigarette use and cognitive function among Hispanic populations in Latin America and the United States.

Whitney also holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from Universidad del Valle in Colombia and a Master of Public Health degree from Indiana University, which she completed as a Fulbright Scholar. Before beginning her PhD program, she worked on mental health program evaluation at Centerstone, an outpatient clinic in Bloomington, and on humanitarian mental health as a physician-scientist at Cisalva Institute, a former World Health Organization Collaborative Center on Violence Prevention in Cali, Colombia. She also managed a study-abroad program for medical students with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA). In her free time, she enjoys learning new recipes, traveling to new destinations, and dancing salsa.