Lucía Abascal Miguel is an Assistant Professional Researcher in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Institute for Global Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Her work sits at the intersection of implementation science, health communication, and digital health innovation, with a focus on advancing health for Spanish-speaking and Indigenous communities in the U.S. and Latin America.
A central focus of her research is creatively using technology to expand access to health services for communities that have historically been left out of traditional care systems. She designs, evaluates, and scales culturally and linguistically tailored digital interventions, including AI-powered WhatsApp chatbots and social media campaigns, that guide users through personalized clinical recommendations, test ordering, and preventive care in plain language and familiar platforms. She has led mixed-methods studies in Guatemala, California, and Mexico, often in partnership with Ministries of Health and community-based organizations. Recent work includes multilingual LLM-powered chatbots for H5N1 prevention among dairy workers. She also works with the California Department of Public Health, where she consults on Spanish-language risk communication strategy and intervention design and serves as a spokesperson.
Her methods include human-centered design, discrete choice experiments, and participatory qualitative research. She has conducted over 400 media engagements with outlets including CNN, Telemundo, and the BBC, and trains public health professionals nationally through UCSF's PRISE Implementation Science Center. She holds an MD from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City and an MS and PhD in Global Health Sciences from UCSF.