Flavia C. Peréa's research emphasizes cross-disciplinary approaches to understanding and acting on complex health, social, and policy problems through collaboration. She has scholarly expertise in community collaborative and participatory social science research methods, health equity/health disparities, Latina/os in the US context, community development, collaborative and capacity-building approaches to community-based intervention design and implementation. A passionate educator, she has expertise in experiential and community-engaged pedagogies, and is dedicated to advancing innovations in teaching and learning through university-community partnerships in urban contexts.

Throughout her career, Dr. Peréa has worked with faculty colleagues and practitioners in diverse fields and academic disciplines, and in partnership with policy makers and stakeholders across various sectors of civic and community life, including municipal government and city agencies; schools; youth, community development, and environmental organizations; hospitals and community health centers; as well as directly with youth and community residents on projects that link inquiry and action. Dr. Peréa’s multidisciplinary work emphasizes muti-sector collaboration through an asset-based lens to increase capacity for students, within communities, and among diverse stakeholders to have impact within and beyond the academy. Her research has focused on workforce development and improving employability to address health inequities; programs to promote positive youth development and improve the trajectories of urban youth of color; empowerment and the transformative power of critical pedagogy to drive community change; and community-driven efforts to improve the built environment through youth leadership. She has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and The Boston Foundation. 

As Director of the MPES, Dr. Peréa works across the Harvard community to stimulate innovations in teaching and learning through the integration of civic engagement and experiential learning into the academic fabric. Broadly, the MPES seeks to engage Harvard students and faculty with community beyond the Harvard context to link scholarly work to real-world, questions, problems, and opportunities. By transcending the boundaries of the classroom, the MPES aims to develop students into engaged citizens and civic leaders who are equipped to respond to the opportunities and challenges facing the wider world through the discovery, integration, communication, and application of knowledge in service to society.