Office of Belonging, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Dr. Garcia is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion who serves as Co-Director of the Diane N. Weiss Center for Orthopaedic Trauma Research and Director for the Center of Student Belonging at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Garcia also serves as Co-Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, and the American Society for Microbiology’s inclusive diversity with equity, access and accountability (IDEAA) Committee of the Board. Dr. Garcia also serves in the Lt. Governor’s COVID-19 Equity Council, and various boards in the state. By  training, Dr. Garcia is a translational pharmacologist and microbiologist specializing in cell signaling and orthopaedic infections. Through a diverse multidisciplinary approach, he has amassed extensive experience in drug development and characterization at both the academic and industrial levels. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Rhode Island (URI), with a minor in Chemistry, and a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at Brown University in the Department of molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology. He has received recognition for his work in the characterization of the Sigma-2 Receptor, his approach towards fighting the post-antibiotic era, and his leadership and dedication towards mentoring and advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at a national level. He is a recognized international leader in the COVID-19 Pandemic, for which he has received dozens of municipal, state, and national recognitions, and a Community Leader in the State of Rhode Island. Dr. Garcia is an active researcher in the development of next-generation infection diagnostics, as well as the development and characterization of antibiotic-independent antimicrobial surface coatings in the Department of Orthopaedics.