Profiles

Dr. Kuo is Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Family Medicine in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and Program Leader for the Population Health Program at the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). In the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, he directs the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, he served as a medical director and science advisor for the Department of Public Health’s Outbreak Management Branch and co-led an effort to assist local health plans with vaccinating the homebound population against this respiratory virus.

Dr. Kuo is an experienced executive in public administration and a physician researcher who has worked extensively in policy development, population health, and health and social services implementation, including program interventions that affect special populations—e.g., older adults, justice involved youth, food insecure families. His portfolio includes projects in infectious disease epidemiology and mortality; tobacco control; cardiovascular health; implementation of clinical and preventive services including the National Diabetes Prevention Program and the Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support program; nutrition and physical activity promotion; diversion programs for youth and adults; and social conditions that affect health. He and his colleagues are known for their work in public policy and system-level change, a theme that runs consistently throughout their projects, which have included policy adoption of tobacco flavor bans, menu labeling, and nutrition standards for institutional food procurement, and research that integrates complex system analysis, health impact assessment, and implementation and improvement science to inform real world practice in chronic disease prevention and control. Dr. Kuo is currently the principal lead and key personnel for several federally funded initiatives in Los Angeles County, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s LA BOLD, Solutions for Equitable Diabetes Prevention and Management, and the Innovative Solutions for Cardiovascular Health project, and the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program—Produce Prescription Program.

Dr. Kuo and his colleagues are presently working on innovative approaches to expand the use of dissemination, implementation and improvement science in public health practice and health services administration. Their goal is to advance proven models of practice in these environments, and to intervene on social drivers of health that impact chronic disease prevention and control. Their efforts form the foundation and learning framework for present collaborations between the UCLA CTSI, local health agencies, universities and nonprofits, and the diverse populations they serve.