Daniel Soto

Assistant Professor Of Clinical Population and Public Health Sciences

Director of the Bachelor of Science Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HP) & Global Health (GH) Programs

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Overview

Daniel W. Soto, Ed.D, MPH, is an assistant professor at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. He directs the Center for Population Health (CPH). He has over 20 years of population-based health behavior research experience and seven years of curriculum design and teaching experience with graduate and undergraduate programs in public health. Dr. Soto has led research and evaluation efforts on several longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of acculturation, mental health, diabetes prevention, substance use, addressing health disparities, preventing the spread of infectious disease, and tobacco control. Most recently, Dr. Soto led a team of 20+ graduate students to work on preventing the spread of COVID-19 in K-12 schools in Los Angeles County. He has established effective community engagement, recruitment, and retention methods for populations across the United States. Additionally, Dr. Soto has published over 100 manuscripts on acculturation, cultural stress, nicotine addiction, and substance use prevention in adolescents and young adults.

Awards

  • University of Southern California, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences: Digital Education Innovator Award, 2023
     – 2024
  • University of Southern California, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences: Chair’s Citation on Pedagogical Excellence Award, 2024
     – 2025

Education and Training

  • University of California Davis, Davis, CA — BA — 06/2001 — Sociology/Native American Studies
  • University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA — MPH — 06/2010 — Public Health/Biostatistics
  • University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA — EdD — 05/2023 — Educational Psychology

Publications

  • Proximity to Cannabis Retailers and Recent Cannabis Use among a Diverse Sample of California Adolescents. Subst Use Misuse. 2024; 59(5):643-650.. View in PubMed
  • Surveying Adolescents During a Pandemic: Comparison of Adolescents Recruited via Social Media vs. Schools. Prev Sci. 2026 01; 27(1):41-46.. View in PubMed
  • Characteristics associated with attitudes and behaviors towards mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Trojan Pandemic Response Initiative. BMC Public Health. 2023 10 11; 23(1):1968.. View in PubMed
  • Application of Protection Motivation Theory to COVID-19 vaccination among a predominantly Hispanic sample of adolescents. Prev Med Rep. 2023 Aug; 34:102245.. View in PubMed
  • Cultural Stress Profiles: Describing Different Typologies of Migration Related and Cultural Stressors among Hispanic or Latino Youth. J Youth Adolesc. 2023 Aug; 52(8):1632-1646.. View in PubMed
  • Pandemic-related life changes and adolescent initiation of cannabis and tobacco/nicotine use. Addict Behav. 2023 09; 144:107724.. View in PubMed
  • Trust in science and scientists among university students, staff, and faculty of a large, diverse university in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trojan Pandemic Response Initiative. BMC Public Health. 2023 03 30; 23(1):601.. View in PubMed
  • Evaluation of a COVID-19 rapid antigen testing program among student athletes in a public high school district. Eval Program Plann. 2023 06; 98:102280.. View in PubMed
  • Perceived Negative Political Climate Among Hispanic/Latino Adolescents Before and After the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election: Associations with Internalizing Symptoms and Substance Use. Int J Intercult Relat. 2023 May; 94.. View in PubMed
  • Correlates of COVID-19 vaccination status among college students. J Am Coll Health. 2024 Dec; 72(9):3136-3138.. View in PubMed