Christina E. Miyawaki, PhD, MSW, MA

Associate Professor | University of Houston | Graduate College of Social Work

Christina E. Miyawaki, PhD, MSW, MA is an Associate Professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She earned her M.A. in Gerontology from San Francisco State University, M.S.W. from the University of California, Berkeley, and Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She worked as a bilingual Geriatric Social Worker and the Program Director at a senior social service agency in Berkeley, California. Dr. Miyawaki’s overall research has centered on the health and well-being of older adults of color and their family caregivers. Trained as a bilingual geriatric social worker, Dr. Miyawaki has first-hand working experience with family caregivers and their care recipients from a variety of racial/ethnic groups. As a gerontologist, she developed a strong foundation in health disparities research, especially focusing on Asian American populations. She has investigated how Asian American family caregivers’ physical and mental challenges are associated with care recipients’ health conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. More recently she has focused on health disparities among older Vietnamese immigrants and refugees and their family caregivers based on their culture. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, the Council on Social Work Education, and the Society for Social Work and Research and an elected member of the Phi Alpha Honor Society.