Meet the Team
Jini Puma PhD
Associate Director (RMPRC), Clinical Associate Professor
- Department of Community & Behavioral Health
- Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center
Dr. Jini Puma is the Associate Director of the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center (RMPRC) and the Principal Investigator (PI) for the RMPRC School Wellness Program (SWP) and the Text2LiveHealthy (T2LH) program. She is the Co-PI on the following four research studies: Fostering Resilience in Early Education (FREE), Linking Systems To Address ACEs Early On (STANCE), Workforce in Low-resources Locations (WELL), and the COVID-19 Supplement project. She received her doctorate in Quantitative Research Methods at the University of Denver in 2007 and has been with the RMPRC since then. Dr. Puma has received several awards including: the Gertrude Cox Scholarship Honorable Mention in 2004, given to outstanding women in the field of statistics; the Master's Scholar award in 2012, given to nine distinguished University of Denver alumni for the work they are doing in their fields; and the ColoradoSPH Excellence in Research award in 2019.
Areas of Expertise
- Early childhood obesity prevention
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- Mental health and well-being of the early childhood workforce
- Refugee health
- Community-based participatory research methodology
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- University of Denver, PhD, Quantitative Research Methods, 2007
- University of Denver, MA, Quantitative Research Methods, 2004
- University of Denver, BA, Biology & Psychology, 2000