“Effective policymaking requires not only the science of discovery but also the art of communication, bridging the gap between evidence and action.”
Dr. Luz Cumba Garcia is an immunologist, policy advisor, and science communicator committed to advancing equity, international collaboration, and public engagement in science and policy. She most recently served as an Advisor for Sustainability at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, supporting the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in developing sustainable health policies and strengthening health systems in low- and middle-income countries.
She is an alumna of the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, through which she contributed to U.S.-Mexico health cooperation and regulatory affairs at the State Department, and supported Arab-Israeli scientific collaboration at the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program. She also advised leading U.S. biomedical institutions on federal policy and international affairs as a Policy Advisor at Lewis-Burke Associates. Her regional science diplomacy experience includes a fellowship with the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI).
She is the founder of SciPolicy Global Strategies LLC, which provides strategic advisory, capacity building, and communications services to help research institutions, government agencies, non-profits, and industry navigate the intersection of science, policy, and communication, driving evidence-informed decisions and advancing equitable global health and development. Dr. Cumba Garcia is a founding member of the Science Diplomacy Network in Latin America and the Caribbean (DiploCientifica), a member of the Global Young Academy, and the recipient of the 2020 Science Defender Award from the Union of Concerned Scientists for her Spanish-language science communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luz earned her Bachelor's Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and her Ph.D. in Immunology from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, where her research on extracellular vesicles in glioblastoma brain tumors led to a patent application. She also holds a Master's Degree in Immunology from University of Granada in Spain. Her academic journey has taken her to China, Brazil, Germany (working with Nobel Laureate Harald zur Hausen), and Spain. Luz's research has garnered awards, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations at national and international conferences.
