Sonia Vega-López, PhD

Dr. Sonia Vega-López joined the Nutrition faculty at Arizona State University in the Fall of 2008. She received her B.S. degree in Food Chemistry from Universidad La Salle in Mexico City and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut. She did her initial postdoctoral training at the Laboratory for Atherosclerosis and Metabolic Research at UC Davis Medical Center and then at the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Her doctoral research focused on the effect of dietary soluble fiber on cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism. As a postdoctoral associate, her research focused on the effects of different dietary components on factors associated with risk for chronic diseases. After completing her postdoctoral training, Dr. Vega-López spent two years at the Hispanic Health Council in Hartford, CT as co-investigator and study coordinator of CEHDL’s DIALBEST study. In this role, Dr. Vega-López was responsible for overseeing the implementation and evaluation of a peer counseling program tailored to the Latino community to support self-management of type 2 diabetes. Her research interests have evolved to study on how diet and lifestyle modifications affect cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors, obesity, the metabolic syndrome, diabetes management and chronic disease prevention. Dr. Vega-López is especially interested in developing strategies to help prevent chronic disease development among Latinos and other high risk populations with limited access to information and adequate health care.