14th Annual WLP Fall Symposium Program

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Dr. Dinorah Martinez Tyson is an Assistant Professor in the College of Public Health and holds
a courtesy appointment in the Department of Anthropology. As an applied anthropologist,
her work focuses on understanding the culture, context, and circumstances surrounding
behavior and disease that are crucial to intervention research and provide empirical rationale
for the adaptation of interventions so that they not only improve symptoms but also engage
communities, and respond to local needs and realities. For example, she worked to adapt
a self-administered stress management program for Latina women with breast cancer titled
“Cómo tratar el estrés durante la quimioterapia,” and to adapt a colorectal cancer screening
educational program for Latinos. She has also conducted epidemiological and cross-cultural
studies to examine the heterogeneity of the Latino/Hispanic population. Dr. Martinez Tyson’s
scholarship builds on the tenets of community-engaged research. Dr. Martinez Tyson’s work
has appeared in the journals Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Cancer, Ethnicity and
Health, Journal of Cancer Education, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Health Promotion
Practice, and Social Science and Medicine. She is also the co-founder of Latinos Unidos por
Un Nuevo Amanecer, Inc. a non-profit organization that provides support to Latinos diagnosed
with cancer. She facilitated a monthly support group for Latinas diagnosed with cancer for
over 10 years and co-coordinates Campamento Alegria, a 3-Day integrative educational and
supportive program for Latina cancer survivors.
DR. DINORAH MARTINEZ
Valerie D. Riddle, MD Award in Health
Dr. Wendy Rote is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of South Florida St.
Petersburg. She received her BA in psychology from Whitman College in 2007 and her MA
and PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Rochester in 2012 and 2014.
Dr. Rote’s research examines parental socialization behaviors, particularly guilt induction and
overparenting, and how parents must adjust and realign their parenting strategies as children
become more autonomous during adolescence and young adulthood. She specifically
focuses on how parents’ and teens’ perceptions of these parenting behaviors differ, especially
as children age, and factors influencing these divergent perceptions. The ultimate aim of Dr.
Rote’s research is to better tailor parenting advice and family therapies to specific situations
by incorporating knowledge about contextual differences and individual features of family
members. Dr. Rote has published numerous articles on her research and gives presentations
in the local community on ways to improve parent-adolescent relationships and parenting
practices. She currently lives in Seminole, FL with her husband and mother and stays busy
raising two young children of her own.
DR. WENDY ROTE
USF Junior Faculty Award
Dr. Leia K. Cain is an instructor in the Educational Measurement and Research Program within
the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies. She obtained her undergraduate
degree from East Carolina University and her MEd and PhD from the University of South
Carolina. Leia’s research focuses on issues of equity for marginalized populations and on
researcher identity development. These areas often overlap, as reflexive practices teach us
that our own identities, as researchers, affect the decisions that we make during the research
process. Leia is currently in her second year as co-chair of the Presidential Advisory Committee
for Issues of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (CISOGI) and of the College of Education’s
Diversity Committee. In addition to these commitments, Leia has developed tailored curricula
for local businesses and national corporations concerning how to treat LGBTQ+ employees
and address issues of equity and climate in the workplace for LGBTQ+ populations. Further,
she has been invited to speak for the National Diversity Council at two of their events in recent
years. She has disseminated her work through local, national, and international conferences,
and has published in multiple peer-reviewed journals.
DR. LEIA K. CAIN
USF Instructor Award
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY • USF.EDU/WLP