Mary L. Garcia-Cazarin, Ph.D., M.S., joined the Tobacco Regulatory Science Program (TRSP) in May 2014 as a scientific advisor. Previously, Dr. Garcia-Cazarin was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of Dietary Supplements, where she performed portfolio analyses of dietary supplements and botanical ingredients, with a focus on identifying research gaps. In addition, she provided support to the Physician-Scientist Working Group established by the Advisory Committee to the Director and the Office of Extramural Research and also supported a potential NIH Common Fund initiative to investigate the physiological mechanisms of physical activity, in collaboration with various Institutes and Centers. 

Dr. Garcia-Cazarin received her Bachelor of Science in pharmaceutical chemistry from Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico, her Master of Science in biology from James Madison University, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and her Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Before becoming an AAAS fellow, Dr. Garcia-Cazarin was a postdoctoral scholar in the department of physiology at the University of Kentucky and an adjunct faculty member in the department of biological sciences at Eastern Kentucky University in Danville. Dr. Garcia-Cazarin is an active member of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and a graduate of their 2011 Leadership Institute. She is a passionate advocate of outreach programs to increase the number of underrepresented minority groups in science-related fields.