Dr. Vargas received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Arizona in 1995 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in 1998. She earned an M.S. in psychology from U of A in 1989 and a B.A. in the subject from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico City) in 1983. Before joining the ASU New College faculty in 2007, Dr. Vargas worked in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences where she was part of a team studying allergic diseases in children.