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

  • Bicultural stress, identity formation, and alcohol expectancies and misuse in Hispanic adolescents: a developmental approach. J Youth Adolesc. 2014 Dec; 43(12):2054-68.. View in PubMed
  • The role of bicultural stress and perceived context of reception in the expression of aggression and rule breaking behaviors among recent-immigrant Hispanic youth. J Interpers Violence. 2015 Jul; 30(11):1807-27.. View in PubMed
  • The interplay of friendship networks and social networking sites: longitudinal analysis of selection and influence effects on adolescent smoking and alcohol use. Am J Public Health. 2014 Aug; 104(8):e51-9.. View in PubMed
  • Associations between ethnic labels and substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents in Los Angeles. Subst Use Misuse. 2014 Jun; 49(8):1007-16.. View in PubMed
  • Problematic substance use among Hispanic adolescents and young adults: implications for prevention efforts. Subst Use Misuse. 2014 Jun; 49(8):1025-38.. View in PubMed
  • Domains of acculturation and their effects on substance use and sexual behavior in recent Hispanic immigrant adolescents. Prev Sci. 2014 Jun; 15(3):385-96.. View in PubMed
  • Cultural measures associated with sexual risk behaviors among Latino youth in Southern California: a longitudinal study. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2014 Dec; 46(4):193-201.. View in PubMed
  • Acculturation and perceived discrimination: predictors of substance use trajectories from adolescence to emerging adulthood among Hispanics. Addict Behav. 2014 Sep; 39(9):1293-6.. View in PubMed
  • Do adolescent drug use consequences predict externalizing and internalizing problems in emerging adulthood as well as traditional drug use measures in a Hispanic sample? Addict Behav. 2014 Mar; 39(3): . View in PubMed
  • Perceived context of reception among recent Hispanic immigrants: conceptualization, instrument development, and preliminary validation. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2014 Jan; 20(1):1-15.. View in PubMed