2025–2026 NHLCC Scholar: Geraldine Abilo Cardenas

Geraldine Abilo Cardenas

MD
University of California, Davis School of Medicine

Geraldine Abilo Cardenas is a Los Angeles native and aspiring cardiovascular physician. Motivated by her dedication to the community that raised her, Geraldine aims to use her career serving those most impacted by cardiovascular health inequity and is passionate about improving health access and outcomes for Black and Brown working class families.

She served as a volunteer health advocate at a county hospital, working to improve access to social resources for families. She went on to supervise the program, coordinating the behavioral care for more than 500 under-insured families, many of which were Latin American refugees.

Her dedication landed her role as the Quality Improvement Analyst for the largest pediatric clinic in San Francisco, improving trauma-informed, patient-centered clinic operations that were modeled across the health network. She’s served as a community research advisor for projects aimed at improving preterm birth outcomes for BIPOC families in California and as a co-director for a gender-affirming free clinic.

Approaching medicine with a sociopolitical life course perspective, Geraldine is dedicated to improving medical and social health across generations.