Profile

M.P.A. Indiana University 2023
B.Ed. Equivalent in Education (Pedagogy), Escuela Normal Superior de Jalisco, 2003
A.A.S. in Physiotherapy, Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, 1997

I am a researcher focused on rigor, reproducibility, and improving scientific practices across public health, aging research, and public policy. My work bridges epidemiology, biostatistics, and evidence-based governance, with particular emphasis on strengthening research transparency, addressing methodological errors, and advancing data-driven approaches to institutional decision-making. I collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to evaluate statistical practices in geroscience, analyze policy systems that influence public-sector meritocracy, and develop frameworks to improve the credibility, reproducibility, and public value of scientific research.

Current research areas

• Statistical rigor in aging and geroscience research, including clustering, nesting effects, and mixed-effects modeling.

• Methods for detecting and addressing analytical errors in scientific studies, to prevent misinformation and improve reproducibility.

• Public sector meritocracy and gender dynamics in hiring panels, using large-scale administrative and policy datasets.

• Development of institutional systems for measurement, benchmarking, and continuous improvement in public health education and research.

• Transparency, data-sharing, and open-science practices in biomedical and behavioral research.

• Research evaluation frameworks for understanding impact, productivity, and performance in higher education institutions.

Thapa, D. K., Parker, E. S., Kandukuri, M., Wang, X., Mokalla, T. R., Robertson, O. C., Najam, W., Teschendorff, A. E., Brown, A. W., Speakman, J. R., Peng, Y., Gorman, B. S., Zhang, H., Becerra-Garcia, L.-E., Vorland, C. J., & Allison, D. B. (2026). Statistical Methods in Aging Research: Improving Current Practices and Embracing Emerging Approaches. Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application, 13, 17.1–17.33. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-statistics-042324-060005

Becerra-Garcia, L.-E., & Aguilar Pineda, M.-G. (2025). Crisis del Servicio Público: Liderazgo y Austeridad. Revista Buen Gobierno, 38 (Enero–Junio). Fundación Mexicana de Estudios Políticos y Administrativos A.C. e-ISSN 2863-1643. Retrieved from https://revistabuengobierno.org.mx/crisis-del-servicio-publico-liderazgo-y-austeridad/

Robertson, O. C., Becerra-Garcia, L-E., Vorland, C. J., & Allison, D. B. (2025, March 25). When scientists don’t correct errors, misinformation and deadly consequences can follow [Opinion]. Scientific American. (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-scientists-dont-correct-errors-misinformation-and-deadly-consequences/)

Becerra-Garcia L-E, Cohen AD, Chen X, Dickinson SL, Macagno ALM, Allison DB. Incorrect analysis in “Effects of the application of a food processing-based classification system in obese women: A randomized controlled pilot study” has resulted in incorrect conclusions of demonstrated effects where no such effects have been demonstrated. Nutrition and Health. 2023;0(0). doi:10.1177/02601060231194653

Avellaneda, C. N., Liu, A. A., & Becerra-Garcia, L-E. (Manuscript under revise-and-resubmit stage). Implementation of the Mexican Meritocratic System: Assessing its Impartiality and Gender Effects. Public Administration Review.

Parker, E. S., Golzarri-Arroyo, L., Dickinson, S., Henschel, B., Becerra-Garcia, L.-E., Mokalla, T. R., Robertson, O. C., Thapa, D. K., Vorland, C. J., & Allison, D. B. (2025). Improving statistical rigor in animal aging research by addressing clustering and nesting effects: Illustration with the National Institute on Aging’s Interventions Testing Program data. bioRxiv preprint, under journal review. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.14.642436

Becerra-Garcia, L-E., Avellaneda, C. N., & Liu, A. A. (In progress). Gender, Power, and Selection: How Hiring Panel Composition Influences Women’s Success in a Meritocratic System

Jamshidi-Naeini, Jasmine, Anna L. M. Macagno, Colby J. Vorland, Luis-Enrique Becerra-Garcia, & David Allison. (In progress).“Beef Consumption and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Analysis of Rigor, Reproducibility, and Verifiability of Current Randomized Evidence.”

Becerra-Garcia, Luis-Enrique, Avellaneda, Claudia, Liu Anthony. “Gender, Power, and Selection: How Hiring Panel Composition Influences Women’s Success in a Meritocratic System.” Invited talk, GRITalks: Gender-Related Initiative Talks, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines, October 17, 2025. (Virtual, via Zoom)

Becerra-Garcia, Luis-Enrique, Avellaneda, Claudia, Liu Anthony. “Gender, Power, and Selection: How Hiring Panel Composition Influences Women’s Success in a Meritocratic System.” Oral presentation at the 11th World Conference on Women’s Studies (WCWS 2025), Bali, Indonesia, May 29–30, 2025.

Avellaneda, Claudia, Becerra-Garcia Luis-Enrique, Liu Anthony. “Implementation of the Mexican Meritocratic System: Assessing its Impartiality and Gender Effects”. Presented at the Conference of the International Institute of Administrative Science, organized jointly with the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Nueva Delhi, India. February 10-14, 2025.

Avellaneda, Claudia, Becerra-Garcia Luis-Enrique, Liu Anthony. “Gender Representation in Job Recruiting”. Presented at the 81th Annual Midwest Political Science Association Hybrid Conference. Chicago, IL, April 4-7, 2024.

Avellaneda, Claudia, Becerra-Garcia Luis-Enrique, Liu Anthony. “Does the Adoption and Implementation of a Bureaucratic Merit System Benefit Gender Equity?”. Presented at the 80th Annual Midwest Political Science Association Hybrid Conference. Chicago, IL, April 13-16, 2023.

Avellaneda, Claudia and Becerra-Garcia Luis-Enrique. “Explaining the Implementation of Merit System: the case of Mexico.” 2015 APSA, San Francisco, CA, September 3-5, 2015.

POSTERS

Thapa, D. K., Kpormegbey, D. E., Najam, W., Chusyd, D. E., Parker, E., Polynice, G., Golzarri-Arroyo, L., Becerra-Garcia, L-E., Wasserman, M. D., Colman, R., Dickinson, S., Chatterjee, S., Kemnitz, J. W., & Allison, D. B. (2024, June). Extension of Health Span is not Equivalent to Compression of Morbidity: Key Conceptual, Statistical, and Design Issues and their Implications for Geroscience Research. American Aging Association Annual Meeting, 2024.

Thapa, D. K., Najam, W., Kpormegbey, D. E., Robertson, O. C., Mokalla, T. R., Becerra-Garcia, L.-E., & Allison, D. B. (2023). Compression of morbidity dynamics: Interrogating evidence, measurement challenges, and research horizons. UAB Aging Research Symposium, 2024.

• Strategic Planning, Data Systems, and Institutional Excellence at SPH-B
• Gender, Power, and Meritocracy in Public Sector Hiring
• Statistical Rigor and Reproducibility in Obesity and Aging Research
• Detecting and Correcting Analytical Errors in Biomedical Research