Dr. Charles is an Associate Professor in CSUF’s Department of Public Health and previously was Director of Health Insurance Studies at UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research. She is also involved in research that focuses on discontinuous health insurance, primarily among low-income children and adults, and how it affects access to care, as well as underinsurance among individuals with health insurance coverage. 

Dr. Charles also specializes in the politics of health care reform both on the state level and nationally. Recently, her work has focused on examining voter engagement and health, along with racial/ethnic group disparities in access to care following California's Medicaid expansion, impacts of health insurance benefit mandates, and discontinuity in coverage and health care caused by COVID-19. Dr. Charles is featured in various NPR and other podcast programs to discuss issues surrounding health care reform, including Air Talk, Which Way L.A.?, The Pat Morrison Show, and Money 101. Her work has also been featured on national media, including NBC Nightly News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Politico.com. 

Dr. Charles received her PhD in Health Services from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and her Master’s degree in Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.