Office Phone: 657-278-7118
Office: H-725E
California State University, Fullerton
800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831
Department of Psychology
P.O.Box 6846
Fullerton, CA
92834-6846
James J. García, PhD (He/Him/Él)
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dr. García is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Cal State Fullerton. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Health Psychology from the University of North Texas. He completed his Pre-Doctoral Clinical Internship at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Health/Rehabilitation Neuropsychology at Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare. Clinically, he has worked with medical populations for over a decade, delivering health psychology interventions and neuropsychological evaluations to communities of color, Spanish speakers, and racial/ethnic LGBTQ+ patients across the continuum of medical care (e.g., inpatient medical rehabilitation, intensive care units, outpatient medical rehabilitation, medical/surgical units, primary care, residential medical facilities). He regularly provides didactic seminars to doctoral level clinical neuropsychology students on diversity issues in clinical neuropsychology. Using a Public Health and Community Health approach to eliminate Health Disparities and promote Health Equity, Dr. García has been involved in health activism at the national level and with local community-based organizations, including his past leadership role as Vice President of Outreach and Community Engagement for the Pomona Pride Center. He has served as an invited community member for the OC Healthcare Agency on their LGBTQ+ report. He is also extensively involved in reviewing diversity science for several journals and has been part of journal editorial boards. Additionally, he sits on several advisory boards for federally-funded health disparities grant projects at CSUF.
Education/Training/Awards:
2023 Bernard J. Tyson Career Development Award, American Stroke Association
2022 Intentional and Meaningful Pedagogy to Achieve Classroom Transformations (IMPACT) Teaching Certificate Program, CSUF Faculty Development Center
2022 Inclusion Champion Certificate Program, CSUF Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Programs
2020 Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Center for Health Equity Research (CHER), CSU Long Beach
2019 Certificate in Effective Instruction Association of College and University Educators (ACUE)/American Council on Education (ACE)
2018 Postdoctoral Fellowship: Clinical Health/Rehabilitation Neuropsychology, Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare
2017 PhD: Clinical Health Psychology, University of North Texas [APA-Accredited Clinical Psychology Program]
2016 Predoctoral Clinical Psychology Internship [APA-Accredited]: Southern Arizona Veteran Affairs Health Care System
2014 Master of Science in Psychology: University of North Texas
2010 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology: California State University, Northridge
As a health equity scientist-activist, my Scholarly and Creative Activities (SCA) focus on health disparities science. More specifically, my research program identifies bio-behavioral, psychosocial, and healthcare utilization risk and resilience factors involved in racial/ethnic and LGBT People of Color (PoC) health disparities across various medical issues (e.g., heart disease, stroke, HIV). As Director of the CSUF Psychophysiology and Social Interactions (PSI) Laboratory, our research group conducts cutting-edge health disparities science with these socially marginalized/minoritized communities via experimental studies using psychophysiological technology, cross-sectional self-report surveys, hospital outcomes data, and existing epidemiological datasets. I also publish articles on diversity training/mentorship in health professions and higher education.
If you are interested in joining my research lab (CSUF Psychophysiology and Social Interactions Lab), please visit my website: psychology.fullerton.edu/psi
If you want to apply to join the lab: https://psychology.fullerton.edu/psi/JoinUs.html
Check out my edited book:
I mentor/train CSUF Graduate (MA/MS) and Undergraduate Students. For MA/MS students who want me to chair their thesis, I require them to work with me for at least one semester--often, students use PSYC 599 to fulfill this.
Undergraduate students can register for PSYC 499, which counts towards their major degree requirements.
Note: I am not accepting any Undergraduate OR Graduate students to my research lab for the Spring 2025 or Fall 2025 Academic Year, as I am at max capacity. Interested students can reach out to me in Spring 2026.
Teaching at CSUF:
PSYC 474 Health Psychology
PSYC 476 Racial/Ethnic Health Psychology
PSYC 348: Latina/o/x Psychology (approved starting Fall 2025)
Visit my website for a list of current publications: https://psychology.fullerton.edu/psi/readwork.html
2022-2023:
The Center at Sierra Health Foundation MAT Access Points Project Opioid use and stimulant use prevention and recovery services in LGBTQ2S+ community (Contract # CA22MAT012)“Knowledge and Art is Power: Awareness of Substance Use Risk/Prevention”
Funding Agency: State of CA Department of Health Care Services
Amount: $250,000
PIs: Submitted by Dr. García on behalf of the Pomona Pride Center (non-profit 501c3)
Spring 2025: Mondays & Wednesdays from 11:30am-1:00pm in H-621 (in-person)
Spring 2025: 11:30am-1:00pm- on Mondays & Wednesdays via Zoom.
Spring 2025
PSYC 476 M/W 1pm-2:15pm
PSYC 474 M/W 2:30pm-3:45pm
PSYC 474 Online
CSUF PSI Lab Instagram: csuf_psi_lab
