Fifteen years ago, when research materials needed translation into Spanish, Andrea Jimenez-Zambrano, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics, often received emails with a request: “Hey, can you translate this?”
It wasn’t part of her job as a student worker. But she was getting paid to help, so she’d say yes.
Much has changed since then.
“Now, I wouldn’t let just anyone who is bilingual translate a document,” says Jimenez-Zambrano, explaining that there are proper processes for professional translation now. Just because someone on the team speaks Spanish, it doesn’t mean it’s part of their scope of work.
As a qualitative methodologist at Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS), she uses qualitative and quantitative methods and extensive experience in community-based participatory research to study health disparities. Her expertise lies in building capacity for qualitative data collection methodologies, which includes mentoring trainees and junior investigators to conduct culturally sensitive research.
After Jimenez-Zambrano’s family emigrated to Colorado from Peru, she served as a language broker for her family in health care settings and beyond. She observed first-hand the disparities in health outcomes that exist in diverse communities. It’s informed her work ever since.
In 2007, Jimenez-Zambrano was a student at the University of Colorado Denver working a retail job. She wanted to go to medical school. When she found a student position working with public health researchers, she applied and got the position. Her role focused on prepping meeting materials, data entry, and other student worker tasks.
When the people she worked with realized she spoke Spanish, they began involving her in all aspects of their work.
After she finished her undergraduate degree, she moved into a research assistant position. While supporting a researcher, she was still considering medical school.
“We were examining people not getting vaccinated or facing systemic barriers. That resonated with me—it was part of my story. I saw family members not being able to access care because of language barriers,” she says.
It was then that she decided to get a master's degree in public health. Though medical school was still on her mind, she realized after completing her master's that her impact on her community could be greater by pursuing a PhD in health and behavioral sciences. Her dissertation focused on helping Mexican American mothers transition from uncertainty to confidence in breastfeeding.
Once she completed her PhD, Jimenez-Zambrano pursued a postdoc through a primary care fellowship at ACCORDS to deepen her research skills and learn about grant and manuscript writing.
“Growing up in Colorado, serving as a language broker for my family, and seeing the disparities, I’m trying now to have an impact not only on my family, but also on the community as a whole,” she says.
Jimenez-Zambrano’s lived experience lends a unique perspective to her work as a qualitative methodologist. She’s able to mentor people designing studies for diverse populations. Her guidance for those she mentors is not to make assumptions.
“I think something I bring to the table is reminding researchers not to assume their proposed intervention is relevant to the lives of the people they are studying,” she says.
For example, she worked with a Latina student who wanted to introduce a curriculum to community health workers. Her first question for the student was, “have you talked to them about it? How does your intervention fit with their current life?”
Jimenez-Zambrano recently reviewed a mentee’s interview guide focused on cultural values and experiences. While at first glance it looked great, she cautioned her mentee to reconsider asking teenagers how their culture impacts the management of diabetes.
“Culture is just who they are. You need to ask them about their daily life. In qualitative research, you need to build the story and then find those pieces. You have to be sensitive to how you approach it. Even if you ask a non-Latinx person about their cultural traditions, they might not know because it’s just part of them,” Jimenez-Zambrano says. “I try to bring this perspective to all the work I do—making sure people are represented and that the research being conducted is sensitive to who they are.”
Jimenez-Zambrano says she’s always encouraging the people she works with and mentors to engage with communities to the best of their ability. Her best advice is always to ask.
“I work with people who either don't have the time to ask, or they're not well connected enough with the communities they are studying. One example is how we often give a $25 gift card for participation to something like Amazon or Target. But what if they prefer Walmart? Because that’s where they shop.”
While she believes students and researchers have good intentions to make an impact, she encourages them to design studies with careful consideration of the expectations and needs of the communities they aim to serve.
Over her 17 years at ACCORDS, Jimenez-Zambrano has taken on many roles, including student worker, research assistant, and project manager. She admits that transitioning to the role of principal investigator (PI) has been an adjustment.
“It was a big shift,” she says, expressing gratitude for mentors who remind her to focus on study design and theory rather than tasks like purchasing gift cards. Still, her understanding of her team members' roles helps her stay focused on the bigger picture.
“It allows me to be more mindful of what I’m asking as PI. If I change my mind about an interview guide or how much we pay people, I know what making that change means for everyone else. It makes me more thoughtful about my decisions,” she says.
Jimenez-Zambrano appreciates all aspects of her experience at ACCORDS.
“It’s why I’m still here, because I love the work that we do. We’re surrounded by the support of good people who make what we do possible,” she says. “Being here and serving as a resource for my community and colleagues is a privilege, and I’m grateful for all the people who helped me get to this place.”