Diana Alexandra Yanez, MD, MPhil, PhD
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Yale School of Medicine. Diana grew up in Tijuana, Mexico. After high school, she moved to Norwalk, California, and enrolled in Cerritos College, where she began her academic journey. During her time at Cerritos College, Diana volunteered at community health fairs, providing immigrants with basic health screenings. She soon observed how language and economic barriers hinder physicians from delivering acceptable care and felt the urge to do more. She continued her studies at UCLA, where she became involved in the community, serving as the outreach director for the black and Latino AIDS project. There, she sought to address the lack of sex education in underserved communities, thereby reducing teen pregnancies and the spread of STIs, which also
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sparked her interest in women’s reproductive health and rights. At UCLA, Diana also developed a keen research interest and obtained a BSc in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology with a Biomedical Research minor. After graduation, she joined Stark Lab at The City of Hope as a research associate, which further fostered her passion for scientific discovery and motivated her to become a physician-scientist.
Pursuing this goal, she embarked on the MD/PhD program at Yale University, where she joined the laboratory of Dr. Keith Choate. Her research focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of skin disease. She also continued her commitment to community healthcare through HAVEN free clinic, providing primary care to low-income uninsured patients. This experience deepened her understanding of the challenges and ailments faced by individuals in underserved communities and fueled her interest in health equity. Deeply connected to her roots, as a native Spanish speaker, Diana also recognized the immediate impact she could have by consistently advocating for the needs of Hispanic patients who were overrepresented among the HAVEN population. She also developed a passion for women’s health, caring for pregnant patients, and working with families. Additionally, during her Ph.D., Diana gained a profound understanding of the critical importance of addressing questions through rigorous scientific inquiry and became interested in health disparities research.
Diana’s desire to improve community healthcare, her love for primary care and women’s health, along with her aspiration to contribute to outcomes and health disparities research, led her to pursue a career as a family medicine physician-scientist. Outside of medicine, Diana enjoys spending time with her loved ones, playing board games and Nintendo Switch, attending music festivals, and exploring nature. She is excited to live closer to her family and looks forward to joining the Sutter Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency program, where she can continue her journey of service and advocacy within the community she now calls home.
Pursuing this goal, she embarked on the MD/PhD program at Yale University, where she joined the laboratory of Dr. Keith Choate. Her research focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of skin disease. She also continued her commitment to community healthcare through HAVEN free clinic, providing primary care to low-income uninsured patients. This experience deepened her understanding of the challenges and ailments faced by individuals in underserved communities and fueled her interest in health equity. Deeply connected to her roots, as a native Spanish speaker, Diana also recognized the immediate impact she could have by consistently advocating for the needs of Hispanic patients who were overrepresented among the HAVEN population. She also developed a passion for women’s health, caring for pregnant patients, and working with families. Additionally, during her Ph.D., Diana gained a profound understanding of the critical importance of addressing questions through rigorous scientific inquiry and became interested in health disparities research.
Diana’s desire to improve community healthcare, her love for primary care and women’s health, along with her aspiration to contribute to outcomes and health disparities research, led her to pursue a career as a family medicine physician-scientist. Outside of medicine, Diana enjoys spending time with her loved ones, playing board games and Nintendo Switch, attending music festivals, and exploring nature. She is excited to live closer to her family and looks forward to joining the Sutter Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency program, where she can continue her journey of service and advocacy within the community she now calls home.