Dr. Peek is a medical sociologist and social epidemiologist with a PhD in Sociology from Duke University. She has research interests in ethnic differences in the effects of social relationships and stress on health outcomes among older adults. She has served as the principal investigator for an NIH funded R01 focusing on marriage and physical and mental health among older Mexican Americans, a core project for a NIH funded P50 Center for Population Health and Health Disparities examining the stress process among Mexican Americans, and two NIH subcontracts focusing on aging and ethnic variations in stress and stress-related biomarkers. Her publication record shows her expertise in the areas of mental health, Hispanic aging, acculturation, stress, health disparities, and predictors of disability.

She has research interests in ethnic differences in the effects of social relationships and stress on health outcomes among older adults. She has served as the principal investigator for an NIH funded R01 focusing on marriage and physical and mental health among older Mexican Americans, a core project for a NIH funded P50 Center for Population Health and Health Disparities examining the stress process among Mexican Americans, and two NIH subcontracts focusing on aging and ethnic variations in stress and stress-related biomarkers. Her publication record shows her expertise in the areas of mental health, Hispanic aging, acculturation, stress, health disparities, and predictors of disability.

 

She is an active teacher, mentor, and educational administrator serving as Vice Chair for Education and the Graduate Program Director for Population Health Sciences in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch. She also serves as the Associate Dean for Recruitment in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She has supervised a number of pre- and post-doctoral fellows in Population Health Sciences and has extensive administrative experience in course and curriculum evaluation, student assessments, educational accreditation, and recruitment and admissions.