Coco Tirambulo

Graduate School
College of Medicine – Tucson
Year Entered Program: 
2021
Degrees Received: 

Bachelor of Science in Biology Minors in Chemistry and Environmental Studies, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA - 2016

Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Tucson, AZ - 2020

Master of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ - pending

About Me: 

Hi, everyone! My name is Coco Victoria Gomez Tirambulo. You can just call me Coco! I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ, and I am a first-generation Filipino-American. I earned my bachelor’s of science in Biology from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. During my undergraduate years, I was able to work under Dr. Souvenir Tachado for a summer internship at the Lung Innate Immunity and Host Defense Research Laboratory, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, where we investigated specific HIV pathways and the role of chronic inflammation in non-associative HIV comorbidities via biochemistry laboratory experiments (cell culturing, western blotting, and ELISA). Then after I graduated, I returned home to Tucson, AZ, where I worked with the UArizona Center on Aging and Biomedical Engineering Department at the College of Engineering, studying frailty syndrome and related biomechanics with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and biosensors. Looking more into how to properly conduct studies and analyze data, I then pursued a master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. However, I wanted more personal interactions with patients and science and was accepted into the MS/MD Pre-Medical Admissions Pathway (P-MAP) program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. For my master's thesis defense in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, hopefully this summer, I will focusing on the region of interest (ROI) white matter and gray matter differences in spontaneous oscillations in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared to healthy controls during resting state MRI.

Now in medical school when I am not studying, I am actively involved in the American Medical Association (AMA) Medical Student Section (MSS) and American Medical Student Association (AMSA) drafting resolutions that will dictate healthcare policy at the local, state, and national level. I am also involved in the Radiology Interest Group (RIG), Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA), and Respiratory Fit Testing group. My current research interests are in epidemiology (e.g., COVID-19 xenophobia/racism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the American Indian population), neuroscience (e.g., Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, and mild cognitive impairment in frailty syndrome), and pharmacology (e.g., how the gut-brain-microbiome-axis affect drug metabolism in Parkinson's disease). Overall, my goal is to be a physician-scientist and advocate, whose time is spent 50% in the lab and 50% clinic, running clinical trials and developing biotechnologies informed by real problems identified at the bedside and clinic.

Add me on Instagram @doubledoctobe and Twitter @ctirambulo! 

Honors & Awards: 

June 2017—Present: Center for Disease Control & Prevention – Healthy Brain Research Network Scholar

June 2017—Present: University of Arizona, CDC-funded Arizona Healthy Brain Research Scholar

2019—Present: National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (PKP)

September 2020: University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman Dean’s Annual Fund Award Recipient - Friends of Canyon Ranch Endowment

November 20, 2021: Second place in the clinical science poster session, Virtual American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) South Atlantic Regional Meeting

Selected Publications: 

Manuscripts:

  1. Sasha Taleban, MD; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD; Shilpa Junna, MD; Todd Golden, MS; Sehem Ghazala, MD; Rita Wadeea, MD; Coco Tirambulo, BS; Jane Mohler, MPH, PhD. Frailty Assessment Predicts Acute Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Screening Colonoscopy. Manuscript published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences on May 17, 2018.
  2. Toosizadeh N, Ehsani H, Taleban S, Golden T, Tirambulo C, et al. (2018) Screening Colonoscopy Adverse Events in Aging Adults: Does Frailty Matter?. J Geriatr Med Gerontol 4:055. doi.org/10.23937/2469-5858/1510055
  3. Hossein Ehsani, PhD; Jane Mohler, PhD; Kathy O’Connor; Edward Zamrini, PhD; Coco Tirambulo; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD. The Association Between Cognition and Dual- Tasking Among Older Adults: The Effect of Motor Function Type and Cognition Task Difficulty. Manuscript for publication in Clinical Interventions in Aging. Published April 8, 2019.
  4. O’Neill LM, Tirambulo CVG. Suicide Prevention for Older Adults. Aging Center on Aging.https://www.uofazcenteronaging.com/document/suicide_prevention_for_older... lts.html. Published March 2019.

Oral Presentation(s):

  1. Coco Tirambulo, Caitlyn McFadden, Zhou Chen, and Kacey Ernst. Xenophobia among Healthcare Communities in the United States during COVID-19: Driving Factors and Magnitude of Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racial Tension. 2021 American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) West Region Meeting, Virtual, January 22, 2022.

Abstracts/Posters:

  • Todd Golden, MS; Shilpa Junna, MD; Rita Wadeea, MD; Sehem Ghazala, MD; Coco Tirambulo, BS; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD; Sasha Taleban, MD; Jane Mohler, MPH, PhD. Frailty Status Predicts Screening Colonoscopy Adverse Events. Abstract and poster presented at the American Geriatric Society 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting Presidential Poster Session in Orlando, Florida on May 3, 2018.
  • Coco Tirambulo, BS*; Caroline Sutherland-Mills*; Hossein Ehsani, PhD; Todd Golden, MS; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD; Jane Mohler, NP, MPH, PhD. Frailty and Depression in Older Adults: A Cross Sectional Study. Abstract and poster presented at the American Geriatric Society 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Florida on May 4, 2018.
  • Coco Tirambulo, BS*; Caroline Sutherland-Mills*; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD; Marc Lindley, PhD; Todd Golden, MS; Nan-Kuei Chen, PhD; Jane Mohler, MPH, PhD; Ying-Hui Chou, Sc.D. fMRI and Upper-Extremity Function: The Effect of Dual-Tasking in Healthy Young and Healthy Older Adults. Abstract and poster presented at the Cognitive Aging Conference in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Institute of Technology on May 5, 2018.
  • Hossein Ehsani, PhD1 ; Coco Victoria Gomez Tirambulo1 ; Caroline Sutherland Mills1 ; Ed Zamrini, MD2 ; Jane Mohler, NP, MPH, PhD3 ; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD3 . Assessing Cognition Using Dual-Task Motor Function: The Influence of Cognitive Task Type. Abstract and poster presented at the Technology & Dementia Alzheimer’s Association International Pre-Conference 2018 in Chicago, IL, July 21, 2018.
  • Ruth Taylor-Piliae, PhD, RN, FAHA; Caroline Sutherland-Mills; Coco Tirambulo, BS; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD; Paul Hsu, PhD; Jane Mohler, MPH, PhD. Enhancing a Matter of Balance Fall Intervention With a Pilot Dual Task Balance Challenge. Abstract presented at the Gerontological Society of America in Boston, MA, November 14-18, 2018.
  • Genevieve Wahlert; Coco Tirambulo, BS; Jane Mohler, MPH, PhD; Nima Toosizadeh, PhD. The Effect of Low Frequency Vibration on Timed Up and Go Performance in Elders at High Fall Risk. Abstract presented at the Presidential Poster presentation at the 10, Tirambulo American Geriatric Society 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting in Portland, Oregon, May 2019.
  • Yuan NP, Chico-Jarillo T, Bernadino B, and Tirambulo CV. Community Engagement for the Development of FASD Prevention Program. Abstract/poster for presentation at the American Public Health Association Conference 2020. 29.
  • Coco Tirambulo, Caitlyn McFadden, David Lieberman, and Mindy Fain. Low Serum Albumin in Patients With Coexisting Cognitive Impairment Predicts Surgical Complications. Abstract/poster for presentation at The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting Online 2020, November 4-7, 2020. 
  • Caitlyn McFadden, Coco Tirambulo, David Lieberman, and Mindy Fain. The Relationship Between Race and Ethnicity in Post-Surgical Discharge Disposition. Abstract/poster for presentation at The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting Online 2020, November 4-7, 2020. 
  • Coco Tirambulo, Caitlyn McFadden, Zhou Chen, and Kacey Ernst. Surveillance of COVID-19 Related Xenophobia among Healthcare Communities in the United States: Driving Factors and Magnitude of Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racial Tension in the Time of COVID-19. 2021 Virtual American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) South Atlantic Regional Meeting, November 20, 2021. Second place in clinical science poster session.
  • Caitlyn McFadden, Coco Tirambulo, Zhou Chen, and Kacey Ernst. Surveillance of COVID-19 Related Xenophobia among Arizona-Based University Communities: Driving Factors and Magnitude of Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racial Tension in the Time of COVID-19. 2021 Virtual American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) South Atlantic Regional Meeting, November 20, 2021.