Marissa Raymond-Flesch, MD, MPH
Associate Professor
Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Clinically she practices Adolescent Medicine with patients 12 to 26 years old, including treatment of depression, anxiety and eating disorders; providing all types of contraception; and providing primary care for patients with complex medical and mental health conditions. Her research focuses on access to care for adolescents and young adults with a particular interest in improving mental health and reproductive health care for minority and rural communities. She is especially interested in using community-based participatory research to design meaningful research projects and create health inventions that communities want and need.

Dr. Raymond-Flesch's current research, conducted in partnership with colleagues from RTI, UC Berkeley, and the Monterey County Health Department, examines the relationship between gang violence, unintended teen pregnancies, and mental health in a cohort of 599 early adolescents in Salinas, California - a small, predominantly Latino community in California’s rural central coast. To date this work has highlighted the critical role that family plays in positive youth development, reducing depressive symptoms, buffering traumatic experiences, and increasing reproductive health knowledge. The second phase of this project "A Crecer: Young Adult Health Study" will follow the same participants into young adulthood to further assess the factors that support rural youth to thrive.

In a separate body of work Dr. Raymond-Flesch is using technology to improve Adolescent and Young Adult health care delivery. She and her colleagues published the first paper describing the use of telemedicine for full-spectrum Adolescent and Young Adult medical care at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. She is also working with a team of CDC funded investigators to design interactive online modules for parents and teens to promote teen-provider alone time for sensitive health services.

Dr. Raymond-Flesch’s prior research focused on health care access for California’s young undocumented immigrant population, working with a team from IHPS, UC Berkeley, and UCLA to study the health concerns and health care access of California’s DREAMers, or young immigrants eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. Dr. Raymond-Flesch’s subsequent research investigated how Medi-Cal eligibility changes that are occurring as a result of the Affordable Care Act and shifting immigration policy, are communicated to and implemented by Medi-Cal enrollment workers.