Laura Flores, MD, PhD

Laura Flores is passionate about clinical trial research, with an emphasis on inclusion and reducing racial and ethnic disparities in research studies. She earned her undergraduate degree in philosophy at New Mexico State University, where she focused on bioethics. Dr. Flores is an MD-PhD Scholar at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). Her doctoral research centered on bone health in at-risk populations, wherein she led clinical trials studying the efficacy of bisphosphonates for bone and muscle preservation.

Dr. Flores was named as one of only 40 scholars selected for the 2019 Yale Ciencia Academy Fellows, a nationally competitive program for advancing science in minority communities. Her passion for increasing diversity in the medical workforce and her involvement in the community have led to several local and national awards, including the Walls Do Talk Award- an award focused on the promotion of diverse portraits within the halls of medical schools. Dr. Flores is interested in increasing access to research for all populations and works to remove barriers for patients and research subjects. She has published on disparities in clinical trials in respected journals, including JAMA Network Open, and her work has been featured on CNN, Axios, Healio, and STAT news.

In addition to graduating with the Praesto Award for her Doctoral work, Dr. Flores was recently an invited speaker at the Harvard Career Advancement and Leadership Skills for Women in Healthcare conference in 2021, presenting on “How to Make Science More Exciting and Accessible: Creating Compelling Scientific Figures and Graphs.”

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