Maria Alonso Luaces, PhD

Professional Background

Dr. Maria Alonso Luaces is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) and Assistant Dean for the Office of Student Engagement at the School of Medicine.
Dr. Alonso’s work primarily focuses on the intersection of Education and Health. She works closely with communities and urban and rural schools in Kansas to develop a strong pipeline to the health professions, serving hundreds of students per year. In the School of Medicine, she leads multiple efforts focused on the recruitment and retention of students into the school.
Dr. Alonso is heavily involved in medical education. She serves as the Structural Competency Thread head for the curriculum, leads the Medical Spanish program and provides numerous educational sessions focused on language barriers, how to work effectively with medical interpreters and the effects of social structures in access and quality of care. The development of The Global Scholars Distinction Program and a summer Study Abroad Program in Spain focused on Medical Spanish and Public Health are just two examples of Dr. Alonso’s efforts to provide the KUMC community with opportunities to seek new perspectives, forester collaboration and graduate students who are prepared to serve ALL patients.

• BS, Linguistics and Literature, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, Spain , Spain
• MA, Language and Literature, The University of Kansas, Lawrence , ks
• PhD, C&T, The University of Kansas, Lawence , KS

• Alonso Luaces Maria, Suarez Natalia, Estrella Octavio, Ramaswamy Megha, Choi Won, Cupertino Paula. 2013. Pipeline efforts with a freirean twist: the Juntos Health Disparities Research Internship.. Journal of Community Medicine and Health Education, 3 (5), 233-239. https://www.omicsonline.org/pipeline-efforts-with-a-freirean-twist-the-juntos-health-disparities-research-internship-2161-0711.1000233.php?aid=17988
• Alonso Luaces Maria, Cearley Maggie, Chang Karin, Cupertino Paula, Ramaswamy Megha. 2018. Envisioning Career Technical Education as a Platform for Student Empowerment. CTE Journal, 6 (2), 2-14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6625782/
• Alonso Luaces Maria, Alvarado Aaron, Keeton Jeniffer, Novorr Jeff, Murrell Tim, Ramaswamy Megha. 2019. An Urban School District-University-Industry Partnership to Increase Diversity in the Health Professions: Lesson Learned from the University of Kansas Health Science Academy. J Best Pract Health Prof Divers, 12 (2), 111-127. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33073263/
• Teachers' Perceptions of Using Health Disparities Content to Engage High Schoolers in Urban Communities Megha, Lumpkins Crystal, Alonso Luaces Maria, Chang Karin, Cupertino Paula. 2019. Teachers' Perceptions of Using Health Disparities Content to Engage High Schoolers in Urban Communities. Journal of STEM Outreach, 2 (1)
• Wickliffe Joi, Coates Tawana, Rodas Jessica, Pomeroy Marcia, Carillo Ursula, Alonso Luaces Maria, Ramaswamy Megha. 2020. Description of a Twenty-Year Initiative to Bring STEM Career Exploration to Urban Minority Youth in Kansas City, Kansas: Multi-Sector Investment and Program Evolution. Journal of STEM Outreach, 3 (3)