Ninez Ponce

Ninez Alafriz Ponce
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Berkeley
Harvard University
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Los Angeles
ThesisWill Viet Nam grow out of malnutrition? : the impact of market transition on child growth

Ninez Alafriz Ponce is an American public health researcher who is the Fred W. & Pamela K. Wasserman Endowed Chair and a professor at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Ponce leads the California Health Interview Survey, a state health survey that collects information on public health.

Early life and education

Ponce studied science at the University of California, Berkeley.[1] She holds a degree in public policy from Harvard University. Ponce returned to California, where she studied toward a doctorate at University of California, Los Angeles. Her doctoral research explored whether Vietnam could overcome malnutrition.[2][3]

Research and career

Ponce investigates socio-ecological predictors for health.[4] She is an advocate for improving the quality of health data, advocating for it to go beyond including underrepresented communities and instead making them center their experience.[5] She actively works to democratize access to data, advocating that data can be used to inform, educate and drive change.[5]

Ponce leads the California Health Interview Survey, a state health survey that collects information on public health, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) that reaches over 20,000 people a year.[6] The survey is the only large-scale survey that includes Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and is available in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean.[7] It has been used to evaluate the impact of the federal “public charge” rule, a test used in immigration proceedings to evaluate whether immigrants are likely to depend on government assistance, and food assistance programs for undocumented migrants.[5]

In 2019, Asian Health Services named Ponce “the People’s Researcher”.[8] Ponce was awarded the 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award.[5] Ponce was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2025.

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ "Ninez Ponce | UCLA Fielding". ph.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  2. ^ "Will Viet Nam grow out of malnutrition? : the impact of market transition on child growth | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  3. ^ "Ninez Alafriz Ponce, PhD '98 | UCLA Fielding". ph.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  4. ^ "Ninez Ponce, PhD - Member Directory | UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center". www.uclahealth.org. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  5. ^ a b c d Mondejar, Marily (2024-03-22). "Ninez Ponce receives 2024 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award for trailblazing work in health and data equity". Foundation for Filipina Women's Network. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  6. ^ "S3 E4: Dr. Ninez Ponce Discusses Data Visibility in the Nation's Largest State Health Survey". All In: Data For Community Health. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  7. ^ "Ninez A. Ponce". healthpolicy.ucla.edu. 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  8. ^ "Ninez A. Ponce". AAPI Victory Alliance. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
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