Yohali Burrola-Mendez, PhD

Yohali Burrola-Mendez is a Research Scientist in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington. She holds a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences and a Master of Science with a concentration in Musculoskeletal Diseases from the University of Pittsburgh. Additionally, she earned a Certificate in Global Health Practice from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and completed postdoctoral training at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, the largest mother-and-child health facility in Canada, affiliated with the University of Montreal.

Dr. Burrola-Mendez’s research expertise spans rehabilitation, disability studies, assistive technology, wheelchair service delivery, health equity, adult training, and the development of assessment tools. Dr. Burrola-Mendez has experience working in low- and middle-income countries, where she has co-led projects funded by USAID, WHO, UNICEF Mexico, and various non-governmental organizations. As a volunteer, she has served as an external reviewer for the World Health Organization’s Standards for Wheelchair Service Provision and is frequently invited to lecture and present on wheelchair service delivery and skills training at international conferences and universities such as Sapienza University in Italy.

Currently, Dr. Burrola-Mendez serves at the Lead Research Scientist and Administrative Lead of Data QUEST, a repository of electronic health datasets from community-based primary care clinics in the Northwest United States. Also, she leads and collaborates as Co-Investigator on research projects on COVID-19, chronic pain, integrated behavioral health, burnout, health inequities and digital therapeutics, particularly in primary care settings. She combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods, with a particular focus on participatory action research.

In her spare time, Dr. Burrola-Mendez is an avid sports enthusiast, regularly practicing swimming, running, and cycling. She is also passionate about traveling and exploring new places.