Julia López, PhD, MPH, LCSW
Assistant Professor of Medicine
- Phone: 314-454-8249
- Email: julialopez@nospam.wustl.edu
Dr. López (she/ella) is a bilingual public health researcher and mental health clinician who leverages her extensive clinical expertise in trauma, stigma, mental wellness, and substance use disorders to drive systemic change in health equity among underserved minority populations. She integrates implementation science to ensure that evidence-based interventions are effectively adapted, scaled, and sustained across diverse settings.
Through her work, Dr. López actively destigmatizes mental health and substance use issues by collaborating with community organizations, academic institutions, and policymakers, thereby fostering a holistic approach to care that addresses both individual and structural determinants of health. Her recent efforts focus on reducing health disparities affecting reproductive health, people living with HIV, immigrant communities, and sexual and gender minority individuals by designing and facilitating interventions that dismantle the mechanisms through which stigma and various forms of trauma and minority stress adversely impact health outcomes.
- Associate Director, Center for Human Rights Gender and Migration, Washington University in St. Louis (2026 – Present)
- Secondary Appointment, Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis (2025)
- Faculty Affiliate, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity, Washington University in St. Louis (2021 – Present)
- Associate Member, Center for Diabetes Translation Research, Washington University in St. Louis (2021 – Present)
Graduate Courses
- Adjunct Professor, Approaches to Trauma Care, Saint Louis University (2016 – Present)
- Adjunct Professor, Community Health Promotion, WashU School of Medicine (2018 – Present)
- Adjunct Professor, Introduction to SPSS, WashU School of Medicine (2021 – Present)
- Honors BS in Social Work and Honors BA in Spanish & International Studies: Saint Louis University, St. Louis MO (2009)
- MSW and Certificate in Community Mental Health: Saint Louis University, St. Louis MO (2010)
- MPH in Behavioral Science and Health Education: Saint Louis University, St. Louis MO (2013)
- PhD with Distinction in Public Health Sciences: Saint Louis University, St. Louis MO (2017)
- 2025 Spark Change Award, Cambio de Colores Conference
- Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society (2024 – Present)
- 2016 Mary Gumble Levy Award, PhD Nominee
- Alpha Epsilon Lambda, Graduate Honor Society (2014 – Present)
- Sigma Delta Pi, Spanish Honor Society (2007 – Present)
- Associate Editor, Frontiers in Reproductive Health (2026-Present)
- Editorial Review Board, Implementation Science Communications (2026-Present)
- Editorial Review Board, Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (2025-Present)
- Senior Editor, Pilot and Feasibility Studies (2025-Present)
- Peer Reviewer, JAMA Network Open (2024-Present)
- Peer Reviewer, Preventive Medicine (2023-Present)
- Peer Reviewer, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (2020-Present)
- Peer Reviewer, AIDS and Behavior (2018-Present)
- Associate Editor, Pilot and Feasibility Studies (2021–2025)
- López JD, Sriprasert I, Wilson ML. Editorial: Inequities and disparities in reproductive health: reproductive epidemiology. Editorial. Frontiers in Reproductive Health. 2024-May-13 2024;6doi:10.3389/frph.2024.1419178
- Parikh S, Zeles V, Kareem K, Lamarque J, Bose T, López JD. From Crisis to Connection: HIV Care Telehealth as an Antidote to Loneliness During the COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Era. AIDS and Behavior. 2025 Aug 14. doi: 10.1007/s10461-025-04827-3. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40810878.
- Wang SA, López JD. Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Language Access in Two St. Louis Emergency Departments. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2025. doi: 10.1007/s10903-025-01807-6.
- López JD, Aifah A, Nartey C, Ripiye NR, Shedul GL, Okpetu E, Nwaozuru UC, Aluka-Omitiran K, Onwu N, Obiezu-Umeh C, Marshall T, Kemner A, Lindley KJ, Haire-Joshu D, Dávila-Román VG, Akaba G, Huffman MD, Ojji DB, Okoro CE. Enhancing Intergenerational HeAlth in Nigeria: Peripartum as Critical Life StagE for CardioVascular Health (ENHANCE-CVH) Study: Findings from Pre-implementation Using the Updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR 2.0). Implementation Science Communications. 2025;7(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s43058-025-00816-8 in Reproductive Health. 2024-May-13 2024;6doi:10.3389/frph.2024.1419178