Dr. Martha Arrieta has been the Director of Research at the Center for Healthy Communities since 2006. She studied medicine at San Agustin National University in Arequipa, Peru and then moved to Florida to train in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of South Florida. Dr. Arrieta held several faculty positions in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at South Florida between 1991 and 2001, in addition to being a Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

After moving to Mobile, Alabama, Dr. Arrieta joined the Mobile County Board of Health, where she has been the Consultant for Surveillance and Bioterrorism since 2003. Dr. Arrieta served as the Associate Director for the Center for Healthy Communities for two years before stepping in as Director of Research. Her past interests in research and publications have included health characteristics of agricultural work forces, cancer among migrant and seasonal farm workers, osteoarthritis, and cardiovascular disease.