Lace DePadilla, PhD

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Lara (Lace) DePadilla

Deputy Associate Director for Science in the Division of Overdose Prevention

 

Areas of Expertise

  • Drug overdose

Lara (Lace) DePadilla, PhD, is the deputy associate director for science in the Division of Overdose Prevention (DOP) at CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). In this role, she assists with scientific review activities such as clearance and provides support on policies and procedures including data access, human subject regulations, and the paperwork reduction act. She is also a contributor to scientific planning, training, and mentorship. In addition, Dr. DePadilla serves as the point of contact in DOP for the topic of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), an NCIPC cross-cutting priority. Prior to her current role, she was the senior health scientist in the DOP Office of the Associate Director for Science beginning in 2018. She has experience in statistics and evaluation and participates in research collaborations with scientists in DOP, across NCIPC, and in other centers.

Dr. DePadilla joined CDC in 2015 as a behavioral scientist on the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) team. Part of her role was to lead the development of the pilot for a national surveillance system with a specific focus on youth sports- and recreation-related TBIs.

Dr. DePadilla received her PhD degree from the Behavioral Sciences and Health Education Department in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, her MS degree in mathematics and statistics from Georgia State University, and her BS degree in sociology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Dr. DePadilla has co-authored over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals, MMWRs, book chapters, and government reports. In addition, she enjoys mentoring Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) and other fellows.