Himy Muñiz-Talavera, PhD, CCRP
- Senior Clinical Research Associate
Departments
Hilmarie “Himy” Muñiz-Talavera is a member of the clinical research associate team in the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine.
Himy is originally from Puerto Rico where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology from The University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. Upon finishing her degree, she decided to continue her studies in biomedical science, and she obtained her doctorate degree from The University of Illinois-Chicago.
Himy is a basic scientist who has dedicated most of her career to trying to understand illnesses affecting pediatric populations. That brought her to join St. Jude in 2016 as a postdoctoral fellow studying pediatric brain cancer. After three years as a researcher in St. Jude, Himy had a change of heart, and she began looking for clinical positions. As a former college educator, Global Pediatric Medicine’s efforts in enhancing programs, training the clinical workforce, building capacity and doing research are what propelled her to join the department in 2019.
Coming from a different culture has taught Himy to truly value the outstanding resources provided by St. Jude, and in her role in GPM she looks forward to helping make an impact on the accessibility of quality care for children worldwide. Her passions include education, travel, science, food, research and communication. Her work in GPM consists of fostering global partnerships and collaborations with physicians in partnering sites, co-leading departmental clinical research and quality improvement initiatives, and managing projects to promote quality care and improve patient outcomes globally.