Natalia Giraldo-Santiago, PhD, LCSW

Mass-ENVISION

Bilingual and bicultural licensed social worker & research staff member
Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Giraldo-Santiago is a bilingual and bicultural licensed social worker and research staff member at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Center for Health Outcomes and Interdisciplinary Research (CHOIR). After completing two years of post-doctoral training at MGH, she was recently appointed as an instructor at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and selected as a 2024-2025 Mass-ENVISION RCMAR scientist, funded by the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) and the National Institute on Aging. As an RCMAR scientist, she is investigating the perspectives and needs of patients experiencing chronic pain and mild-to-moderate dementia. Through qualitative interviews patients, caregivers, and dyads, Dr. Giraldo-Santiago aims to inform the development of a caregiver assisted mind-body intervention (The GetActive+ Together Program) that cut across physical, emotional, and socio-cultural dimensions of pain management among Spanish-speaking and Latino adults with neurodegenerative diseases.