Dr. Liliana Aguayo is a transdisciplinary cardiovascular public health researcher that focuses on the childhood origins of cardiometabolic health disparities. Her work examines how social and structural determinants shape early-life nutrition, obesity, and cardiovascular risk among underserved populations, with a particular focus on Hispanic/Latinx families in the United States and Mexico. Through community-engaged and life-course research, she aims to advance prevention strategies that reduce the long-term burden of obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Aguayo earned her MPH/PhD in Community Health from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as a fellow of the USDA Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program and completed American Heart Association–funded postdoctoral training in cardiovascular epidemiology at Northwestern University and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. Her research has been supported by the NIH, USDA, and the American Heart Association. She currently holds an American Heart Association Career Development Award. She also serves in the Editorial Board of Childhood Obesity and has leadership roles within the American Heart Association and the American Society for Nutrition.

*Co-authored with a student (BA, MPH/MSPH or PhD) or recent graduate

1. *Fields N.D., Gooding H.C., Perak A.M., Vos M.B., Aguayo L. (2025) Racial and ethnic disparities in childhood cardiovascular health: evidence of the role of social disadvantage from NHANES 2013-2018. BMC Med. 2025 Oct 24;23(1):582. PMID: 41136956; PMCID: PMC12553186.
2. *Aguayo L, Cotoc C, Guo JW, Labarthe DR, Allen NB, Marino BS, Davis MM, Uttal S, Lloyd-Jones DM, Perak AM. (2025) Cardiovascular health, 2010 to 2020: A systematic review of a decade of research on life’s simple 7. JAHA; 16:e038566. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.124.038566
3. *Pyo E, Haardörfer R, Aguayo L, Vos M, Weber MB, Welsh JA. (2025) Associations of Acculturation With Added Sugars Intake and Weight Status Among Mexican American Adolescents in the United States, NHANES, 2009-2018. Pediatr Obes. 2025:e70063. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.70063. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41147844.
4. *Soares LA, Paniagua C, Nguyen J, Kojic A, Sanfrey ER, Reyome ME, Aguayo L, Sattler ELP. (2025). The Role of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Post ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Care: A Scoping Review. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2025;12(1):22. PMID: 41230336; PMCID: PMC12602557.
5. *Aguayo L., Bell-Washington T.L., Johnson V.R., Kotz C.M., Lofton H.F., Sibley S.D., Stanford F.C., Toney A.M., White U. (accepted in October 2024) The Obesity Society Position Paper on Improved Diversity Representation to Enhance Health Disparities Research. Obesity. Publication postponed indefinitely after acceptance.
6. Suglia SF, Knox N, April-Sanders AK, Aguayo L., López-Cepero A, Cohall A, Wang S, Wall M, Canino G, Bird H, Duarte CS. (2024) Prevalence of cardiometabolic risk and health factors among Puerto Rican young adults in the Boricua Youth Study - Health Assessment. Ann Epidemiol. 2024; 89:8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2023.11.007. PMID: 37977282.
7. *Aguayo L., Chang C., McCormack LR., Shalowitz MU. (2023) Parental Determinants Associated with Early Growth after the First Year of Life by Race/Ethnicity. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 2023; 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2023.1213534
8. Gooding H., Aguayo L. (2023). Hard Lessons from a School-based Intervention to Improve Cardiovascular Health in Adolescence. JAMA Cardiol. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2023.2244
9. *Toney A.M., Pineros-Leano M., Perez-Flores N.J., Gomez D., Aguayo L. (2023) “It is in our hands–why wait until you are sick?”: Perceptions about diabetes prevention of Latina mothers in Mexico and the United States. Diabet Med., e15060. doi: 10.1111/dme.15060. PMID: 36751972.
10. Aguayo L., López-Cepero A, Tan X, Estrella ML, Zhong VW. (2023) Editorial: Cardiometabolic diseases in understudied populations. Frontiers in Epidemiology;3. PMID: 37974560 https://doi.org/10.3389/fepid.2023.1160108
11. *Pérez-Flores NJ, Pineros-Leano M, Damian K, Toney AM, Aguayo L. (2023). Barriers and facilitators of physical activity among Latina immigrant and Mexican mothers living in the US and Mexico: A qualitative study. PLoS One;18(8):e0290227. PMID: 37651357; PMCID: PMC10470970.
12. Aguayo L., Chirinos D., Heard-Garris N., Davis M. M., Stein-Merkin S., Seeman T., Kershaw K. (2022). The Association of Exposure to Abuse, Nurture and Household Organization in Childhood with Four Major Cardiovascular Risks Factors among Participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults. JAHA, 11(9), e023244. PMID: 35475340
13. *Pineros-Leano M., Graff N., Aguayo L. (2022) Childhood obesity risk factors by race and ethnicity. Obesity (Silver Spring).30(8):1670-1680. doi: 10.1002/oby.23500. PMID: 35894074.
14. Aguayo L., Beach LB., Davis MM., Kershaw K., Turner B., Felt D., Marro R., Phillips GL. (2021). Someone to talk to: Mentoring relationships are associated with reduced odds of suicidal behaviors among US high school students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.5. doi: 10.1007/s00127-021-02144-3. PMID: 34351438
15. Aguayo L., Li., Joyce B.T., Leng J., Zheng Y., Shiau S., Liu H., Wang L., Gao R., Baccarelli A., Hu G., Hou L. (2021) COMT genetic, epigenetic, and genetic-epigenetic interactions associated with macrosomia, in children with and without gestational diabetes exposure. Childhood Obesity.  doi: 10.1089/chi.2020.0327. PMID: 33826421.
16. Aguayo L., Ogolsky, B., Teran-Garcia M., Pineros-Leano M., Wiley A., Lin J., Aguirre-Pereyra R., Schwingel A. (2021) From culture to chromosomes: A mother-child dyadic study of acculturation, telomere lengths and body fat. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2021;5:100029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100029; PMID: 35754453
17. Aguayo L., Pineros-Leano M., Alam R.B., Aguirre-Pereyra R., Schwingel A., and Cunningham, SA. (2021) The Association of Family Nutrition and Physical Activity screening tool with Children’s Working Memory: A Cross-Sectional Study among Mexican Young Children. Children. 8:506. PMID: 34203778
18. Aguayo L., Hernandez I., Yasui M., Estabrook R., Anderson EL., Davis MM., Briggs-Gowan MJ., Wakschlag L., Heard-Garris N. (2021). Cultural socialization in childhood: Analysis of parent-child conversations with a direct observation measure. Journal of Family Psychology;35(2):138-148. doi: 10.1037/fam0000663. PMID: 33871275.
19. Pool LR, Aguayo L, Brzezinski M, Perak AM, Davis MM, Greenland P, Hou L, Marino BS, Van Horn L, Wakschlag L, Labarthe D, Lloyd-Jones D, Allen NB. (2021). Childhood Risk Factors and Adulthood Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review. Journal of Pediatrics, S0022-3476(21)00087-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.01.053
20. Krefman A., Labarthe D., Greenland D., Pool, L., Aguayo L., Juonala M., Kähönen M., Lehtimäki T., Day SR., Bazzano L., Van Horn L., Alonso CF., Webber LS., Pahkala K., Laitinen TT., Raitakari O., Lloyd-Jones D., Allen NB. (2021) Influential Periods of Change in Longitudinal Clinical Cardiovascular Health Scores. American Journal of Epidemiology kwab149. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwab149. PMID: 34010956.
21. Pineros-Leano M., Saltzman J. A., Liechty J. M., Musaad S. Aguayo L. (2021) Maternal depressive symptoms and their association with breastfeeding and childhood obesity. Children, 8(3), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030233. PMID: 33802965
22. Cuevas, C., Herrera P., Morales G., Aguayo L., Galvez P.E. (2021) Understanding the Food - Family Relationship: Qualitative research in a Chilean low socioeconomic context. Appetite, 156: 104852. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2020.104852
23. Heard-Garris N., Davis M., Estabrook R., Burns J., Briggs-Gowan M., Allen N., Carnethon M., Aguayo L., Wakschlag L., Penedo F. (2020). Adverse childhood experiences and biomarkers of inflammation in a diverse cohort of early school-aged children. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health, 1, 100006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2019.100006
24. *Aguayo L, Khan M, De Leon R Jr, Schwingel A. Use of Geographic Information Systems in Physical Activity Interventions: a Systematic Review. Prog Prev Med (N Y). 2019 Jun 14;4(2):e0022. doi: 10.1097/pp9.0000000000000022. PMID: 31588417; PMCID: PMC6716576.
25. *Jansen T., Aguayo L., Bobbit J., Payne L., Schwingel A. (2019). Diabetes Disparities across Illinois. GIS Snapshots. Preventing Chronic Disease,16: 180154.
26. *Bobbitt J., Aguayo L., Payne L., Jansen T., Schwingel A., (2019). Going the 'extra mile' for disease prevention: Geographical and social factors associated with chronic disease self-management program participation. Preventing Chronic Disease, 16: E25.
27. *Aguayo L., Olave-Pichon A., Ariza A.J., Binns H.J. (2017). Characteristics of Very Young Hispanic Children Referred for Obesity Management. Global Pediatric Health, 4, 2333794X17739192.
28. Schwingel A., Linares D.E., Gálvez P., Adamson B., Aguayo L., Bobbit J., Castañeda Y., Sebastião E., and Marquez D.X. (2015). Developing a Culturally Sensitive Lifestyle Behavior Change Program for Older Latinas. Qualitative Health Research, 25(2): 1733-46.

Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/liliana.aguayo-markes.1/bibliography/public/)

SELECTED AWARDS

• 2022- 2025 American Heart Association Career Development Award 
• 2022- 2024 NIEHS K12 PREHS-SEED: Pediatric and Reproductive Environmental Health Scholars Southeastern Environmental Exposures and Disparities mentored career development program 
• 2021-2023 NIH-funded Emory Specialized Center of Research Excellence in Sex Differences (SCORE)
• 2021-2022 Rollins School of Public Health Dean’s Pilot and Innovation Grant
• 2020-2022 NIDDK: Diversity Supplement to the Study of Dynamics and Health Consequences of Obesity between Infancy and Young Adulthood in the United States 
• 2018 -2020 American Heart Association (AHA) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine/ Lurie Children’s Hospital
• 2016- 2017 Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP) USDA-Seed Grant 
• Summer 2014 Robert Louis Katz Summer Fellowship. Center on Obesity Management and Prevention (COMP), Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Robert Louis Katz Medical Research Foundation.
• 2013- 2018 USDA Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP) Predoctoral Fellowship. Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois. USDA-Training Grant number 2011-67001-30101 

SELECTED HONORS

• 2025 American Heart Association (AHA) Mark Bieber Award. This award recognizes an early career investigator for outstanding nutrition-related research. AHA Epi/Lifestyle 2025 Scientific Sessions
• 2023 Perinatal Research Society (PRS) 2023 National Selection to the Young Investigator Program Scholar, PRS NIH – Mead-Johnson Nutrition Workshop September 27th -29th, 2023
• 2023 Early-Career Keynote in the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Sponsored Session at the XXVII Congresso Brasileiro De Nutrologia, Sao Paulo Brazil, September 21st -23rd, 2023
• 2021 American Heart Association (AHA) Scott Grundy Award for Excellence in Metabolism Research
• AHA Epi/Lifestyle 2021 Scientific Sessions
• 2020 American Heart Association (AHA) Epi-Minority Travel Award
• AHA Epi/Lifestyle 2020 Scientific Sessions, Phoenix, AZ
• 2020 Academic Pediatric Association (APA) RAPID Fellow
• RAPID Annual Mentoring and Career Development Conference, Arlington, VA
• 2019 Nominated as “Rising Star in Health-Related Sciences”
• Underrepresented Minority Scholars (URM) Rising Scholars in Health-Related Sciences
• Indiana University School of Public Health – Bloomington, IN
• 2019 Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition Finalist
• American Society for Nutrition (ASN), Nutrition 2019, Baltimore, MD
• 2018 Research in Diverse Populations Section Poster Award
• The Obesity Society Research in Diverse Populations Section. Obesity Week 2018, Nashville, TN
• 2018 Howard S. Hoyman Award in Recognition to a Great Educator
• The Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2017 Latin American Affairs Poster Award
• The Obesity Society Latin American Affairs Section. Obesity Week 2017, National Harbor, MD
• 2017 Conference Travel Award
• The Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2017 CLACS Graduate Student Professional Development Fellowship
• Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana – Champaign
• 2017 President’s Research in Diversity Travel Award
• Executive Vice President/ Vice President Academic Affairs
• The University of Illinois System
• 2017 The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)/ MARC Mentored Poster/ Platform Presenter Award. The Minority Access to Research Careers Program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Experimental Biology 2017, Chicago, IL, April 22-26, 2017.
• 2016 Latin American Affairs Poster Award
• The Obesity Society Latin American Affairs Section. Obesity Week 2016 New Orleans, LA
• 2016 Conference Travel Award
• The Graduate College at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
• 2016 Service Award. In recognition of Service to the Graduate College Educational Equity Programs.
• The Graduate College at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• 2016 Conference Travel Award
• The Graduate College at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• 2015 Britta L. and James A. Wolfe Award
• College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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