Rate My Professor Tracy Becerra-Culqui

Dr. Tracy Becerra-Culqui holds a PhD in Epidemiology and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California. She became a licensed occupational therapist in 2006, beginning her practice at Pediatric Therapy Network in Torrance, California. Her clinical expertise encompasses diverse pediatric settings, including community mental health, school-based services, early intervention, prevention programs, social-skills groups, clinic-based sensory integration, and feeding therapy. Drawing on her public health background, she joined a team to establish an Early Head Start program for families with children aged 0-3 years in an underserved community, blending occupational therapy and public health approaches.

Following her PhD, Dr. Becerra-Culqui advanced health services research at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, incorporating her occupational therapy viewpoint. Her studies examined vaccine safety, medical procedure effectiveness in reducing disease burden, health equity in care access and quality, preventive care utilization patterns, health of special populations, post-treatment quality of life, hormone-related acute cardiovascular events, and modifiable failures in cancer detection. As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at California State University, Dominguez Hills, she focuses on maternal and child health, viewing early life as a sensitive period for interventions that mitigate health disparities and promote lifelong well-being. Her research addresses autism spectrum disorder etiology and phenotypic heterogeneity, parental first concerns, diagnosis timing, service access, and COVID-19 impacts. She contributes to the scholarship of teaching through courses such as "Occupations Across the Lifespan," "Case Seminar - Pediatrics," and "Interactive Reasoning." Key publications include "Prenatal Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Acellular Pertussis Vaccination and Autism Spectrum Disorder" (Pediatrics, 2018), "Mental Health of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth Compared with Their Peers" (Pediatrics, 2018), "Parental First Concerns and Timing of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis" (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2018), "Parent Intentions to Vaccinate Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder against COVID-19" (Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2022), "Ambient Air Pollution and Autism in Los Angeles County, California" (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2013), and "Prenatal Influenza Vaccination or Influenza Infection and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Offspring" (Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2022).