Dr. Porta is a mixed method prevention scientist committed to improving the health and well-being of vulnerable young people and their families. Dr. Porta leads collaborative research projects locally and globally, targeting individual-level (e.g., sexual violence, risk behaviors), family-level (e.g., conflict), and social-level problems (e.g., pandemic threats, social stigmas). Dr. Porta teaches research methods, program evaluation, and use of technology in research and practice. She serves on the Editorial Review Board for Public Health Nursing and the Journal of Forensic Nursing, and on the Commissioner appointed Special Review Board for the State of Minnesota.