TYAN PARKER DOMINGUEZ joined the USC faculty in 2001 after working with children, families and adults in inpatient and outpatient medical settings, as well as community mental health clinics.
Her research focuses on persistent racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality, pre-term delivery and low birthweight. Specific projects emphasize the psychosocial and biological impact of stress on pregnancy, as well as the role that racism-related stressors might play in perpetuating health disparities. She has presented her research at symposia hosted by the New York Academy of Medicine, Society for Maternal/Fetal Medicine, American Public Health Association, Society for Behavioral Medicine and the American Psychosomatic Society.
Parker Dominguez has served on the Centers for Disease Control’s Racism and Health Workgroup and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services’ Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality. She also appears in the award-winning PBS documentary series "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick," which was honored with the 2009 National Academies of Health Award for Outstanding Scientific TV/Radio Programming.
Parker Dominguez chairs the board of directors of the California Black Women’s Health Project, a statewide health advocacy organization, co-chairs the Improving Pregnancy Outcomes Committee of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Maternal and Child Health section, and was recently elected to APHA’s Governing Council. In 2007, she was named the Maternal and Child Health Section’s Young Professional of the Year.
Co-Coordinator of the Human Behavior in the Social Environment sequence and the Families and Children concentration for the Virtual Academic Center, Parker Dominguez serves as the faculty sponsor of the Christian Caucus and teaches human behavior theory and life span development, program planning and program evaluation.