Research Team

Eugenio Beltrán

Eugenio Beltran, DMD, MPH, MS, DrPH, DABDPH, served as the Senior Scientist and Advisor to the Director, Division of Oral Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Beltran has also been a Senior Director at the Center for Scientific Strategies & Information at the American Dental Association.
He presently serves as Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Quality Improvement and Evidence-Based Dentistry at the University of New York, College of Dentistry, as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion at the New York University College of Dentistry (NYU).

Alejandra Valencia

Alejandra Valencia, DDS, MPH, DABDPH, is currently the Director of the Oral Health Forum; a community-centered initiative committed to improving oral health programs and services for Chicago and Illinois residents through education, assessment, policy and program development, and network collaboration. Through her position at the Forum, she has been an integral contributor in several efforts to advance the oral health of Chicago residents. Dr Valencia is a current Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health. Dr. Valencia is currently a Co-Chair of the Research, Grants, and Development initiative of the Hispanic Dental Association.

Martha Mutis

Martha Mutis, DDS, MPH, cMBA, EdD, is the National Chair of the Research, Grants, and Development at the Hispanic Dental Association. Her last academic appointment was as an assistant community professor in Public Health at NSU. Currently, Dr Mutis is serving as President Elect of the New York Section at The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR), and North America Regional Councilor at the Global Oral Health Inequities Research Network (GOHIN) of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR). She has been working at the Research Group on Disparities in Health (RGDH) on Cross-Cultural Knowledge and Diversity in Dental Education at Columbia University.

Jorge Bernal

Dr. Jorge Bernal, DDS, MPH, served as a Dental Sealant/Oral Health Education Specialist at the Georgia Department of Public Health. He provides leadership, direction, and advice for the Dental Sealant program to ensure its effectiveness in improving the oral health of Georgia’s children. Dr. Bernal also has been involved in the annual American Dental Association’s Give Kids a Smile Day as well as the Special Olympics of Georgia, where he started the sealant program, and numerous other dental-related events and screening programs. Dr. Bernal is Research Advisor for the Hispanic Dental Association since 2021.

Elias Morón

Dr. Elías M. Morón is Associate Professor of Oral Science and Director of the M.S. in Dentistry program at Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine. He serves on national boards (HDA, AAHD, DDS) and the ADA Strategic Forecasting Committee, and is a Fellow of ACD, ICD, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy.
Trained in Colombia (D.D.S., Health Services Management) and the U.S. (M.P.H., M.S. in Health Law; postdoc at NYU; research at Harvard), his work combines dental education, health law, and public health to expand access to care, inform policy, and mentor future leaders.

Jorge Delgado

Jorge Enrique Delgado DDS, PhD is a researcher, educator, and editor. Dr. Delgado has been the editor-in-chief of the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Universitas Odontológica of Javeriana University since the mid-1990s. He has held leadership positions with the special interest groups Higher Education of the Comparative and International Education Society, Knowledge Communication of the American Educational Research Association, and the Education Section of the Latin American Studies Association. Dr. Delgado used to be a board member of the federally qualified Squirrel Hill Health Center and participates in the Emerging Latino Communities research group at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health. Dr. Delgado serves as an editor and research advisor for the Hispanic Dental Association since 2022.

Ana Zea

Dr. Ana Zea PhD is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Departments of General Dentistry and Health Policy & Health Services Research at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine. In her Role as Director of Community Health Education, Dr. Zea coordinates all curricular Community-Based and Service-Learning rotations and externships for DMD students at GSDM. Dr. Zea is currently a Co-Chair of the Research, Grants, and Development initiative of the Hispanic Dental Association.

Juan Mesa

Juan Camilo Mesa, ND. Mb. MSc, is a Nutritionist-Dietitian, Microbiologist, and researcher in Public Nutrition. Juan has worked as a nutritionist in different fields, such as clinical nutrition, sports nutrition, and community nutrition. Since 2018, Juan has offered nutrition advice to different targets worldwide through his platform elnutritdice.com. In 2024, he launches his book “El nutri dice” and his own artificial intelligence services on ai.elnutricionistadice.com. Juan has been Research Advisor for the Hispanic Dental Association since 2023.

Catalina Martínez

Catalina Martinez Ascencio, MMSc, is a Psychologist and Public Health Researcher with a focus on health behavior and communication. Ms. Martinez Ascencio has served as a Research Consultant for the Hispanic Dental Association since 2023, where she contributes to research initiatives and develops educational content for its members. She has been a guest lecturer at Universidad Externado de Colombia and Universidad El Bosque, and an invited speaker for institutions including Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz and Lund University. While at Lund University, Ms. Martinez Ascencio was the recipient of two research scholarships, which supported her literature review on the attitudes of women with chronic health conditions toward copper IUD use. She has also shared her international academic experience through webinars focused on student life and public health studies.

Paola García

Paola García, DDS, MTIAE, has a specialization in Occupational Health from El Bosque University and a Master’s degree in Educational Information Technologies from the Pedagogical University of Colombia. She currently serves as Director of the Occupational Health and Safety Research Line and Coordinator of the Outpatient Service for the clinical training program of Dentistry students at El Bosque University. In addition, she acts as an advisor on minimum standards for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems . Dr. Garcia is Research Advisor for the Hispanic Dental Association since 2023 and Actually Editor of the Journal Hispanic Dental Association.

Alicia Gonzalez

Alicia Gonzalez, BA, MPA is the Program Coordinator at the Duke Global Health Institute’s Center for Policy Impact in Global Health, where she provides comprehensive administrative and operational support across Center-wide initiatives and individual research projects. She holds a Master of Public Administration and brings a strong foundation in organizational management, strategic coordination, and program development. In addition to her role at Duke, Alicia actively supports research efforts with the Hispanic Dental Association Research Team and has served as the Journal Production Designer for the Journal of the Hispanic Dental Association since June 2024, reflecting her commitment to advancing health equity

Ana López-Fuentes

Dr. Ana López-Fuentes, D.M.D., M.P.H., FACD, FICD; is a tenured Professor, at the Community Dentistry Section of the University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine (UPRSDM). She was the Dean of the UPRSDM from 2014-2018. Dr. López-Fuentes was also the 2022-2023 Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors. At the UPRSDM, she serves as President of the Infection Control and Quality Assurance Standing Committees with a certificate in dental infection prevention and control from OSAP and the DALE Foundation. Dr. Lopez-Fuentes has been senior research advisor of the Hispanic Dental Association since 2019.