Doctoral Dissertation:
Where Public Health and Politics Intersect: The Effects of Political Identity on Trust in Public Health Actors and Vaccine Uptake in the U.S.
I aim to discern how trust in public health actors manifested across political identities to impact individuals’ vaccination decisions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic utilizing U.S.-nationally-representative public opinion survey data. For this project, I used psychometric survey methods to develop and evaluate a novel scale to measure trust in U.S. public health actors for vaccine information (Paper 1); qualitative content analysis to generate and compare themes in COVID vaccination decision-making rationale among partisans (Paper 2); and latent variable structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between trust in U.S. public health actors, political partisanship, and COVID vaccination over time (Paper 3).
*Denotes authors who contributed equally to the work.
**Denotes mentee.
2026
31. Madanay F, Gutierrez AM, Nayan R, Nguyen T, Boyce K, Pinto NM, Fagerlin A, Lindsay IM, Delaney RK. “Attitudes toward genetic testing and data sharing among adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease.” Patient Education and Counseling. Accepted 13 July 2026. In press.
30. Vuocolo B**, Sierra R, Lalani S, Gutierrez AM. “Access to specialty health care and social services for children with rare disease in the Texas Rio Grande Valley: A qualitative study.” Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. Accepted 4 July 2026. In press.
29. Gutierrez AM, Leo MC, Joseph G, Guerra C, Ackerman SL, Anguiano B, Majumder MA, Ramos MA, Recinos AM, Sahin-Hodoglugil N, Slavotinek A, Robinson JO. “Perceptions of Professional Spanish Medical Interpretation during Genomic Sequencing Results Sessions.” Patient Education and Counseling. Accepted 6 June 2026. In press.
28. Gutierrez AM, Robinson JO, Allen-Rhoades WA, Smith HS, Canfield I, Hsu RL, Scollon SR, Desrosiers-Battu LR, Schneider NM, Lin FY, Parsons DW, Plon SE, Majumder MA, Malek J, McGuire AL. “Treatment decision-making roles and preferences among adolescents and young adults with cancer.” Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 2026 Mar; e70235.
2025
27. Gerido LH, Geary J, Gutierrez AM, Dale KJ. “Equity and Inclusion in Assessing Hereditary Cancer Risk: Insights from Excluded Communities, Structured Interviews, and Population Genetics.” Cancer Control. 2025;32.
2024
26. Gutierrez AM, Robinson JO, Smith HS, Desrosiers LR, Scollon S, Canfield I, Hsu RL, Schneider NM, Parsons DW, Plon SE, Allen-Rhoades W, Majumder MA, Malek J, McGuire AL. “Genomic sequencing research in pediatric cancer care: Decision-making, attitudes, and perceived utility among adolescents and young adults and their parents.” Genetics in Medicine. 2024 May;26(8).
25. Vuocolo B**, Gutierrez AM, Robinson JO, Recinos AM, Desrosiers LR, Majumder MA, Bernini JC, Gill J, Griffin T, Tomlinson GE, Vallance K, McGuire AL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, Scollon S. “Families’ experiences accessing care after genomic sequencing in the pediatric cancer context: “It’s just been a big juggle”” Journal of Genetic Counseling. 2024 Jan; 33(66):1337-1350.
2023
24. Gutierrez AM, Robinson JO, Raesz-Martinez R, Canfield I, Majumder MA, Scollon S, Desrosiers LR, Hsu RL, Allen-Rhoades W, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL, Malek J. “Views of adolescents and young adults with cancer and their oncologists toward patients’ participation in genetic research.” Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. 2023 Oct;12(5).
23. Guerrini CJ*, Majumder MA*, Robinson JO, Cook-Deegan R, Blank M, Bollinger J, Geary J, Gutierrez AM, Shrikant M, McGuire AL. “Fresh takes on five health data sharing domains: quality, privacy, equity, incentives, and sustainability.” Frontiers in Big Data. 2023 Feb:6
2022
22. Pereira S, Gutierrez AM, Robinson JO, Christensen KD, Genetti CA, Blout Zawatsky CL, Hsu RL, Zettler B, Uveges MK, Parad RB, Beggs AH, Holm IA, Green RC*, McGuire AL*. “Parents’ decision-making in whether to receive adult-onset only genetic findings for their children: Findings from the BabySeq Project.” Genetics in Medicine. 2022 Dec;25(3):100002.
21. Smith HS, Bonkowski ES, Deloge RB, Gutierrez AM, Recinos AM, Lavelle TA, Veenstra DL, McGuire AL, Pereira S. “Key drivers of family-level utility of pediatric genomic sequencing: A qualitative analysis to support preference research.” European Journal of Human Genetics. 2022 Nov;1-8.
20. Kusters IS, Gutierrez AM, Dean JM, Sommer M, Klyueva A. “Spanish-Language Communication of COVID-19 Information across U.S. Local Health Department Websites.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 2022 Oct;13:1-8.
19. Gutierrez AM, Schneider SC, Islam R, Robinson JO, Hsu RL, Canfield I, Guerrini CJ. “Experiences of Stigma in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Stigma and Health. Advanced online publication. 2022 Jan.
2021
18. Kusters IS, Dean JM, Gutierrez AM, Sommer M, Klyueva A. “Assessment of COVID-19 Website Communication in Languages Other than English by Local Health Departments in the United States.” Health Communication. 2021 Dec;31:1-11
17. Gutierrez AM, Robinson JO, Outram SM, Smith HS, Kraft SA, Donohue KE, Biesecker BB, Brothers KB, Chen F, Hailu B, Hindorff LA, Hoban H, Hsu RL, Knight SJ, Koenig BA, Lewis KL, Lich KH, O’Daniel JM, Sasaki SO, Tomlinson GE, Waltz M, Wilfond BS, Ackerman SL, Majumder MA. “Examining Access to Care in Clinical Genomic Research and Medicine: Experiences from the CSER Consortium.” Accepted, in press. 2021 Sept.
16. Lindberg NM, Gutierrez AM, Mittendorf KF, Ramos M, Anguiano B, Angelo F, Joseph G. “Challenges and Lessons Learned in Creating Accessible Study Materials for Spanish-speaking Participants in CSER Consortium Projects.” Personalized Medicine. Epub ahead of print. 2021 Aug.
15. Hsu RL*, Gutierrez AM*, Schellhammer SK, Robinson JO, Scollon S, Street Jr RL, Salisbury AN, Pereira S, Malek J, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Pediatric oncologists’ experiences returning and incorporating genomic sequencing results into cancer care.” Journal of Personalized Medicine. 2021 Jun; 11(6): 570.
14. Guerrini CJ*, Schneider SC*, Guzick AG*, Nwankwo GNA, Canfield I, Fedson S, Gutierrez AM, Sheu JC, Song AY, Villagran AM, McGuire AL, Storch EA. “Psychological distress among the U.S. general population during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2021 Jun; 12: 810.
2020
13. Gutierrez AM, Hofstetter JD, Dishner EL, Chiao E, Rai D, McGuire AL. “A right to privacy and confidentiality: Ethical medical care for patients in United States immigration detention.” The Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics. 2020 Apr; 48(1):161-168.
2019
12. Malek J, Pereira S, Robinson JO, Gutierrez AM, Slashinski MJ, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Responsibility, Culpability, and Parental Views on Genomic Testing for Seriously Ill Children.” Genetics in Medicine. 2019 Jun; 12:1.
11. Gutierrez AM, Statham EE, Robinson JO, Slashinski MJ, Scollon S, Bergstrom KL, Street RL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Agents of Empathy: How Medical Interpreters Bridge Sociocultural Gaps in Genomic Sequencing Disclosures with Spanish-Speaking Families.” Patient Education and Counseling. 2019 May; 102(5):895-901.
10. Scollon S, Majumder MA, Bergstrom K, Wang T, McGuire AL, Robinson JO, Gutierrez AM, Lee CH, Hilsenbeck SG, Plon SE, Parsons DW, Street RL. “Exome Sequencing Disclosures in Pediatric Cancer Care: Patterns of Communication among Oncologists, Genetic Counselors, and Parents.” Patient Education and Counseling. 2019 Apr; 102(4):680-686.
9. Pereira S, Robinson JO, Gutierrez AM, Petersen DK, Hsu RL, Lee CH, Schwartz TS, Holm IA, Beggs AH, Green RC, McGuire AL. “Perceived Benefits, Risks, and Utility of Newborn Genomic Sequencing in the BabySeq Project.” Pediatrics. 2019 Jan; 143(Supplement 1):S6-13.
2017
8. Gutierrez AM, Robinson JO, Statham EE, Scollon S, Bergstrom KL, Slashinski MJ, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL, Street RL. “Portero versus Portador: Spanish Interpretation of Genomic Terminology during Whole Exome Sequencing Results Disclosure.” Personalized Medicine. 2017 Nov; 14(6):503-514.
7. Pereira S, Robinson JO, Peoples HA, Gutierrez AM, Majumder MA, McGuire AL, Rothstein MA. “Do privacy and security regulations need a status update? Perspectives from an intergenerational survey.” PLOS One. 2017 Sept; 12(9): e0184525.
6. Malek J, Slashinski MJ, Robinson JO, Gutierrez AM, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McCullough LB, McGuire AM. “Parental Perspectives on Whole-Exome Sequencing in Pediatric Cancer: A Typology of Perceived Utility.” Journal of Clinical Oncology: Precision Oncology. 2017 May; 1:1-10.
5. Seid CA, Jones KM, Pollet J, Keegan B, Hudspeth E, Hammond M, Wei J, C. McAtee P, Versteeg L, Gutierrez A, Liu Z, Zhan B, Respress JL, Strych U, Bottazzi ME, Hotez PJ. “Cysteine mutagenesis improves the production without abrogating antigenicity of a recombinant protein vaccine candidate for human chagas disease.” Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 2017 Mar; 13(3):621-633.
4. Wilcox L, Ramprasad CV, Gutierrez AM, Richards-Korum R, Oden MZ, Sangi-Haghpeykar H, Gandhi M. “Diagnosing Postpartum Hemorrhage: A New Way to Assess Blood Loss in a Low Resource Setting.” Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2017 Mar; 21(3):516-523.
2013
3. Li LT, Mills WL, White DL, Li A, Gutierrez AM, Berger DH, Naik AD. “Causes and Prevalence of Unplanned Readmissions Following Colorectal Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2013 Jul; 61(7):1175-81.
2. Spiegel GJ, Dinh C, Gutierrez A, Lukomnik J, Lu B, Shah K, Slough T, Yeh PT, Mirabal Y, Gray LV, Marton S, Adler M, Schutze GE, Wickham H, Oden M, Richards-Kortum R. “Design, Evaluation, and Dissemination of a Plastic Syringe Clip to Improve Dosing Accuracy of Liquid Medications.” Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2013 Mar; 41(9):1860-8.
1. Li LT, Mills WL, Gutierrez AM, Herman LI, Berger DH, Naik AD. “A Patient-Centered Early Warning System to Prevent Readmission after Colorectal Surgery: A National Consensus Using the Delphi Method.” Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2013 Feb; 216(2):210-216.e6.
*Denotes mentee.
2. Gutierrez AM, Do MH, Motta M. “Psychometric Validity Evidence for a Measure of Trust in U.S. Public Health Actors for Vaccine Information” Doctoral Dissertation Paper 1. Submitted March 2026. Revise and resubmit in progress.
1. Malek J, Robinson JO, Jo E, Wang T, Gutierrez AM, Majumder MA, Desrosiers-Battu LR, Scollon S, Smith HS, Lin F, Hilsenbeck S, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Parents’ Expected and Experienced Utility of Genomic Sequencing for Pediatric Cancer Patients in the Texas KidsCanSeq Study.” Submitted June 2026. Under review.
*Denotes mentee.
5. Gutierrez AM, Bromley-Dulfano RA, Motta M, Ansolabebere SD. “A Mixed Methods Analysis of Decision-making Rationale for and Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination in the U.S.” Doctoral Dissertation Paper 2.
4. Gutierrez AM, Bromley-Dulfano RA, Sommers BD, Motta M. “The Mediating Role of Trust in U.S. Public Health Actors in the Relationships between Political Party Identity and COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance from 2020-2023.” Doctoral Dissertation Paper 3.
3. Gutierrez AM, Choudhary K*, McGuire AL, Cook-Deegan R. “Expert, advocate, and Hispanic/Latino community stakeholders' perspectives toward genomic data sharing.”
2. Gutierrez AM, Choudhary K*, McGuire AL, Cook-Deegan R. “Access to genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk among Hispanic/Latino populations in the U.S.: Voices of experts, advocates, and communities.”
1. Gutierrez AM, Ackerman S, Danila MI, Fullerton M, Gelb B, Hindorff L, Kaufman D, Kraft SA, O'Daniel JM, Ou J, Savich R, Wilfond BS, Knight SJ. “Engaging underrepresented stakeholders in genomic research—successes, barriers, and lessons learned in the CSER consortium.”
*Denotes presenting author
2026
Gutierrez AM*, Do MM, Motta M. “Psychometric Validity Evidence for a Measure of Trust in U.S. Public Health Actors across Partisans over Time.” American Association for Public Opinion Research Annual Conference. Los Angeles, CA. May 13-15, 2026. Paper presentation.
2025
Gutierrez AM*, Bromley-Dulfano RA, Motta M, Ansolabehere SD. “Exploring Reasons for and Against COVID-19 Vaccination: A Qualitative Analysis of Decision-Making Rationale Among U.S. Survey Respondents.” AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting. Minneapolis, MN. June 7-10, 2025. Poster presentation. Awarded Best Public Health and Population Poster.
Gutierrez AM*, Bromley-Dulfano RA, Motta M, Ansolabehere SD. “A Mixed Methods Analysis of Decision-making Rationale for COVID-19 Vaccination: Findings from a U.S. Public Opinion Survey.” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. April 2-6, 2025. Paper presentation.
2021
Gutierrez AM*, Robinson JO, Scollon S, Majumder MA, Street RL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Spanish-preferring parents' perceptions of and satisfaction with communication in a pediatric cancer genomic setting.” American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Virtual paper presentation. October 23-27, 2021.
Gutierrez AM*, Robinson JO, Scollon S, Majumder MA, Street RL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Perspectives and preferences of adolescent and young adult cancer patients related to their participation in genomic research.” American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Annual Conference. Virtual paper presentation. October 13-16, 2021.
Majumder MA*, Gutierrez AM*, Geary J*, McGuire AL*. “Equity considerations, challenges, and policy options for creating an effective knowledge commons for hereditary cancer risk.” American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Annual Conference. Virtual panel presentation. October 13-16, 2021.
Gutierrez AM*, Hsu RL, Schellhammer S, Salisbury AN, Robinson JO, Pereria S, Scollon S, Street Jr RL, Malek J, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Pediatric oncologists’ experiences returning and incorporating genomic sequencing results into cancer care.” Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers Annual Research Symposium. Virtual poster presentation. April 16, 2021.
Majumder MA*, Gutierrez AM*, Ackerman SL*, Knight SJ*. “Assessing Access to Care in the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research Consortium: Contexts and Challenges.” ELSIconversations Virtual Presentations Series Spring 2021. Posted February 3, 2021. Virtual panel presentation. Link to video.
2020
Gutierrez AM*, Robinson JO, Islam R, Scollon S, Majumder MA, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Spanish-speaking Participants’ Perceptions of and Satisfaction with Communication with Medical Interpreters in a Genetic Setting.” The 5th ELSI Congress. New York City, NY. June 15-17, 2020. Accepted as paper presentation but not presented: meeting cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
Gutierrez AM*, Niño de Guzman J, Sarmiento F, Langer A. “Barriers to use of family planning services among teenagers in the Amazonas region of Peru: A comparison of teenager and provider perceptions.” American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. November 2-6, 2019. Paper presentation.
Gutierrez AM*, Robinson JO, Malek J, Majumder MA, Street RL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “Implications and considerations for engaging diverse participant populations in genome research: Emerging lessons from the Texas KidsCanSeq Study.” American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. November 2-6, 2019. Poster presentation.
2018
Gutierrez AM*, Robinson JO, Hsu RL, Petersen DK, Malek J, Majumder MA, Street RL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL. “The Texas KidsCanSeq Study: Enrolling Diverse Patient Populations into Genome Research.” American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Annual Conference. Anaheim, CA. October 18-21, 2018. Paper presentation.
2016
Gutierrez AM*, Robinson JO, Slashinski MJ, Statham EE, Street RL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL, McCullough LB. “More than Just Translation: The Role of Medical Interpreters in the Disclosure of Whole Exome Sequencing Results for Spanish-Speaking Families.” American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Annual Conference. Washington, DC. October 6-9, 2016. Paper Presentation.
Gutierrez AM*, Robinson JO, Statham EE, Slashinski MJ, Scollon S, Bergstrom KL, Street RL, Parsons DW, Plon SE, McGuire AL, McCullough LB. “Lost in Translation: How Medical Interpreters Modify the Communication of Whole Exome Sequencing Results during Translation for Spanish-Speaking Families.” National Society of Genetic Counselors Annual Education Conference. Seattle, WA. September 28-October 1, 2016. Poster Presentation.
2013
Gutierrez AM*. “The SAPHE Mat.” Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. New York City, NY. September 22-26, 2013. Scalable Ideas: Pitching for Partnerships session presenter; Closing Plenary Session guest speaker.
2019
McGuire AL, Pereira S, Gutierrez AM, Majumder MA. “Ethics in Genetic and Genomic Research.” Chapter 6 in: Mazur KA & Berg SL (Eds.), Ethical Issues in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Springer International Publishing; 2019 Nov; 91-110. ISBN: 978-3-030-22683-1.
Oden M, Lukomnik J, Dinh C, Gutierrez A, Amaro C, Richards-Kortum R. Method and Apparatus for Dose Measurement. United States Patent 8535277. 2013 Sept.
A low-cost clip to prevent overdosing when using an oral syringe to dispense liquid medication.
2021
Atun R, Gutierrez AM, Mendales JA, Morgan AA, Sanchez J, Zegarra CZ. “Addressing the rising burden of cancer in Colombia: Challenges & opportunities— An Analysis of Colombia’s Health System and Cancer Control Policies.” The Union for International Cancer Control. 2021 April. Link to report. Spanish translation available.
2020
Atun R, Gutierrez AM, Morgan AA, Zegarra CZ. “Addressing the rising burden of cancer in Argentina: Challenges & opportunities— An Analysis of Argentina’s Health System and Cancer Control Policies.” The Union for International Cancer Control. 2020 July. Link to report. Spanish translation available.
2019
Gutierrez AM. Understanding the perceptions of users, providers, and administrators toward adolescent pregnancy in Peru: A qualitative case study in the Amazonas Region. Prepared for the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru. 2019 April. Spanish translation available.