Maria Carmenza Mejia, M.D., M.P.H.

Biography

Maria Carmenza Mejia, M.D., M.P.H., FACPM, FASAM is Professor of Population Health and Social Medicine at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University. She is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Professor Mejia brings specialized expertise in health behaviors and social determinants of health with respect to cancer, chronic diseases, tobacco cessation, substance use disorders, and social vulnerability, with a special focus on underserved communities. She also has vast experience in community engagement and outreach strategies and expertise in the tripartite mission of clinical, research and education.

Education

• 1998: M.D. Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellin, Colombia
• 2010: M.P.H. Master of Public Health, University of Florida
• 2011-2014: Medical Residency, Public Health and General Preventative Medicine, Meharry Medical College

Work History

• 2024-Present: Professor, Department of Population Health and Social Medicine, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University
• 2019-2024: Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
• 2014-2019: Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine

Scholarly Activity

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Mejia MC, Mitchell J, Dumpa M, Maki D, DiCorcia M, Levine R, Hennekens C. Emerging Data in COVID-19 Create Urgent Challengers for Health Providers: Updates on COVID-19 vaccines and Paxlovid. J Natl Med Assoc. 2024 Apr;116(2 Pt 1):174-179. doi:10.1016/j.jnma.2024.01.007.
• Mejia MC, Kowalchuk A, Gonzalez S, Ajeesh S, Scamp N. Expanding Treatment, Recovery, and Reentry Services for Female Offenders: Improving Outcomes through Client-Centered Interventions. Community Ment Health J. 2024 Jan 4. doi:10.1007/s10597-023-01223-w.
• Mejia MC, Adele A, Levine RS, Hennekens CH, Kitsantas P. Trends in cigarette smoking among United States adolescents. Ochsner J. 2023 Winter;23(4):289-295. doi:10.31486/toj.23.0113.
• Martinez T, Mejia MC, Arcia R, Sanchez P. Climate Justice in the Barrios: A Chronically Neglected Topic for the Most Climate-Vulnerable Communities in the U.S. Journal of NHMA. Fall 2023.
• Ghaddar T, Ferris A, Mejia MC, Ravi S, Levine R, Hennekens C, Caceres J. Evolving Trends in U.S. Mortality from Opioid Overdose: Heroin and Beyond. Am J Med. 2023 Dec;136(12):1211-1215. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.08.004. Epub 2023 Sep 1. PMID: 37660745.
• Levine RS, Levine EM, Rubenstein A, Muppala V, Mejia MC, Gonzalez S, Zoorob R, Hennekens CH. Continuing Alarming Increases in Suicide in American youths: Clinical and Research Challenges. Ann Pediatr Child Health 2023; 11(2): 1301
• Levine RS, Mejia MC, Gonzalez AJ, Walia N, Zoorob RJ, Hennekens CH. Increasing firearm fatality among Texas school-age children (5-18 years) – 1999-2020. TPHA Journal. 2022
• Mejia MC, Zoorob R, Levine R, Huang X, Hennekens C. A Cross-Sectional Survey of Smoking Patterns during COVID-19 in a tobacco cessation and lung cancer screening program.  Ochsner J. 2022 Spring;22(1):48-60. doi:10.31486/toj.21.0082. PMID: 35355638; PMCID: PMC8929218.
• Lalani R, Levine RS, Mejia MC, Gonzalez S, Hennekens CH, Drowos J. Assault mortality in United States women of childbearing age. Prev Med Commun Health. 2021. doi:10.15761/PMCH.1000154
• Mejia MC, Zoorob R, Gonzalez S, Mosqueda M, Levine R. Key Informants’ Perspectives on Implementing a Comprehensive Lung Cancer Screening Program in a Safety Net Healthcare System: Leadership, Successes, and Barriers. J Cancer Educ. 2021 Jan 8. doi:10.1007/s13187-020-01931-x.
• Wang H, Mejia MC, Gonzalez S, et al. Cancer Incidence and Survival Trends among Infants in the United States from 1975 to 2014. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 2021. doi:10.22541/au.159373305.50025864
• Zoorob RJ, Mejia MC, Matas JL, Levine RS, Salemi JL. Different trends in United States tobacco use: Inpatient databases and population-based surveys. J Registry Management. Winter 2020.
• Levine RS, Mejia MC, Salemi JL, Gonzalez S, Aliyu M, Husaini B, Zoorob R, Hennekens C. A descriptive study of racial inequalities in mortality from hepatocellular cancer before and after licensure of lifesaving drugs for hepatitis C virus in the United States. EClinicalMedicine, 01 May 2020, Vol.22
• Salemi JL, Raza SA, Modak S, Fields-Gilmore, Mejia de Grubb MC, Zoorob RJ. The association between use of opiates, cocaine, and amphetamines during pregnancy and maternal postpartum readmission in the United States: a retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Readmissions Database. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020 Mar 20;210:107963. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107963
• Ovini R, Wood S, Mejia MC, Salemi JL, Hennekens C, Levine R. Mortality from necrotizing enterocolitis: Greater racial inequalities and differences in risk factors. Pediatr Neonatol. 2020 Mar 12. PMID: 32278742

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Awards and Honors

• 2024: Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award, Baylor College of Medicine
• 2023: Clark Faculty Service Award, Baylor College of Medicine
• 2022: Fellow, National Hispanic Medical Association Leadership
• 2022: Women of Excellence, Baylor College of Medicine
• 2022: Star Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care, Baylor College of Medicine
• 2018: Outstanding Researcher, Baylor College of Medicine
• 2018: Beta Upsilon Chapter of Delta Omega, National Award by the Honorary Society of Public Health

Professional Societies

• American Society of Addiction Medicine, Member, Fellow
• American College of Preventive Medicine, Member, Fellow
• National Hispanic Medical Association, Member, Fellow