Jose Etienne Ortega Flores, PhD candidate

2026 RECIPIENT

ACHF Student Travel Award

Etienne is a graduate student researcher at the University of California, Riverside’s (UCR) Division of Health, Well-being, and Safety. His work includes studies on the determinants of college dropout using Tinto’s theory of student integration through structural equation models with latent variables. More broadly, his research explores the political economy of education from a Varieties of Capitalism perspective, structural incentives and barriers, on the one hand, for people to acquire skills and pursue an education, and on the other hand, for employers to provide training. Additionally, he studies how social networks shape public attitudes toward scientific institutions. He holds a BS in data science and a BA in social science from NYU Shanghai and is currently pursuing a PhD in political science.