Title: Professor
Company: Advent Health
Location: Lake Mary, Florida, United States
Veronica de los Angeles Hernández-Morales, DPH, Adjunct Professor at South College, Everglades University and Advent Health University, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Healthcare Professionals for dedication, achievements and leadership in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Higher Education.
Dr. Hernández-Morales has made a name for herself in medicine, specifically epidemiology and public health, marked by a commitment to advancing knowledge and improving community health outcomes. Since 2023, she has been active in academia as a contributing faculty member at Walden University and as an adjunct professor of epidemiology at South College. She has also served as an adjunct professor in the College of Health Science and Public Policy at Everglades University and in the College of Health Biological Sciences at AdventHealth University since 2025. Leveraging her classroom skills, Dr. Hernández-Morales previously taught human physiology at the University Libre-Pereira in Colombia from 1999 to 2022 and undergraduate-level courses in clinical biochemistry at the University Manuela Beltran in Colombia between 1995 and 1996, foundational teaching roles that have contributed to her success today in the United States.
Before pivoting into higher education, Dr. Hernández-Morales was a senior epidemiologist and STD surveillance coordinator for the Mississippi State Department of Health from 2019 to 2023. She had completed a practicum earlier at the Mississippi State Department of Health between 2018 and 2019. During her tenure with the department, Dr. Hernández-Morales’s expertise encompassed epidemiology and biostatistics, with a focus on chronic and infectious diseases, occupational health, maternal and child health, heart disease and stroke programs, and COVID-19.
Dr. Hernández-Morales built a robust foundation in clinical laboratory science and bacteriology in Colombia before entering the United States. From 2006 to 2012, she worked as a clinical laboratory scientist and bacteriologist at Mackenzie Laboratory in Bogotá. She also excelled in clinical and medical laboratory scientist positions at Merck Sharp and Dohme. Earlier, Dr. Hernández-Morales worked as a medical technologist III at Unisaf-Pereira, a medical technologist II at Clinic Carlos Lleras, a medical technologist III at Bayer S.A., and a junior researcher at CORPOICA CEISA from 1994 onward.
Dr. Hernández-Morales’s academic achievements have been instrumental in shaping her professional trajectory. She earned a Bachelor of Science in clinical/medical laboratory science from Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca in 1993, a master’s degree in marketing from the University of San Pablo/Madrid in Spain in 2012, and a Master of Public Health with concentrations in epidemiology and biostatistics from Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, in 2016. That same year, she completed an epidemiology internship with the Jackson Heart Study. Additionally, Dr. Hernández-Morales earned a Doctor of Public Health from Jackson State University in 2020 and completed coursework on causal inference at the University of Michigan Summer Institute.
Beyond her formal education, Dr. Hernández-Morales received numerous credentials that underscore her commitment to ongoing professional development, beginning with FEMA fundamentals of emergency management through the Emergency Management Institute in 2017. Others include social and behavioral research certification through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative in 2017, American Medical Technologists certification in 2018, International Education Research Foundation clinical laboratory scientist certification in 2018 and, among others, HIPAA training credentials from the Mississippi State Department of Health in 2021.
Dr. Hernández-Morales’s professional affiliations reflect her dedication to excellence and leadership within her field. She is an active member of several organizations, including the American Public Health Association, the Mississippi Public Health Association, the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the American Society for Microbiology and the American Medical Technologists. In addition to her professional endeavors, Dr. Hernández-Morales is actively involved with an organization serving the Latino community, providing information on COVID-19 and chronic diseases, an initiative that has significantly impacted public awareness and community health outcomes. Her civic engagement extends further through her affiliation with organizations like the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
As a researcher, Dr. Hernández-Morales’s scholarly contributions include co-authorship of several publications in Preventing Chronic Diseases, the Journal of Public Health in the Deep South, Alternatives Therapies in Health and Medicine, and the Journal of Infectious Diseases: Research and Treatment. She has also presented extensively within her field.
Throughout her career, Dr. Hernández-Morales has demonstrated exceptional expertise in epidemiology and biostatistics. She is recognized for her contributions to chronic disease prevention, infectious disease control and public health preparedness, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Hernández-Morales’s accomplishments have been recognized with numerous awards, most recently the Best Student Poster Presentation from the Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Health Practices section of the American Public Health Association in 2019 and the designation as one of the Best Public Health Professionals in Mississippi by the Who’s Who Honor Society in 2021.
Dr. Hernández-Morales attributes her success to hard work, discipline and collaboration. Inspired by her grandfather, a physician in Colombia, she pursued a career dedicated to helping people and communities worldwide. Dr. Hernández-Morales’s passion for global epidemiology, mathematics, statistics and mindfulness continues to drive her efforts as an epidemiologist.
In addition to teaching at the academic level, Dr. Hernández-Morales aspires to pursue research aimed at improving community life by advancing chronic disease, COVID-19 and infectious disease research. Her career reflects unwavering dedication to public health education, research and service, and an enduring commitment to making meaningful contributions both locally and globally.
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