Torres's research integrates qualitative and quantitative methodologies in examining written and spoken discourses on health issues, from policy documents to doctor-patient interactions. His recent research focuses on the opioid crisis, uncovering the language employed by policymakers in addressing the crisis, as well as the language utilized by physicians and patients to negotiate, reinterpret, and enact such policies during consultations. His scholarly work can be found in Discourse Studies, Applied Corpus Linguistics, and the Journal of Pragmatics. At present, he is deeply engaged in investigating the influence of sociocultural and racial factors on the linguistic portrayal of pain by patients, along with its implications on physicians' prescribing practices. ASU Library keeps a collection of his work here.
PhD Linguistics, University of California, Davis; 2022
MA Linguistics, University of California, Davis; 2018
BA Linguistics and Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles; 2015 (Magna Cum Laude)
AA in Business, Humanities, Natural, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013
Language and Health
Sociolinguistics
Discourse Analysis
Language (of) Policies
Prosody
Corpus Linguistics
Applied Linguistics
Torres, P.J., (2023). Face-saving strategies and the burden of opioid policy enactments: When physicians’ compliance makes patients non-compliant. Journal of Pragmatics 205, 122–136 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2023.01.001
Torres, P.J., (2022). Modality and interpretive spaces in policies. In B.A. Diaz & R.W. Schrauf (Eds). Applying linguistics in health research, education, and policy: Bench to bedside and back again. 141-168. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110744804-006 Links: De Gruyter Mouton.
Torres, P. J., (2022). The Nation’s Fix: The Language of the Opioid Crisis Links: Proquest
Torres, P.J., (2021). The role of modals in policies: The US opioid crisis as a case study. Applied Corpus Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acorp.2021.100008 Links: Elsevier | Kudos
Torres, P. J., Henry, S. G., & Ramanathan, V. (2020). Let’s talk about pain and opioids: Low pitch and creak in medical consultations. Discourse Studies 22(2). 174-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445619893796 Links: Sage Publication | Kudos | PubMed | ePuB Download link
Henry S.G., White A.E., Magnan E.M., Hood-Medland E.A., Gosdin M., Kravitz R.L., Torres P.J., & Gerwing J. (2020) Making the most of video recorded clinical encounters: Optimizing impact and productivity through interdisciplinary teamwork. Patient Education and Counseling. 103(10). 2178-2184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.06.005 Links: ScienceDirect
Courses
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LIN 501 | Approaches to Research |
| ENG 312 | English in its Social Setting |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| ENG 312 | English in its Social Setting |
| APL 601 | Intro to Applied Linguistcs |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| LIN 510 | Linguistics |
| ENG 213 | Intro to the Study of Language |
Aug 2022 - Miami University Heanon Wilkins Fellow
Jan 2022 - Linguistic Society of America (LSA) Elizabeth Dayton Award in Sociolinguistics
Sep 2021 - UC Davis Teaching Assistant Consulting Fellow–Professional Dev’t Facilitator ‘21-’22
Sep 2021 - UC Davis Dissertation Year Fellowship 21-22
Aug 2021 - LSA Committee on Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics (CEDL) Award
Dec 2020 - Verilogue Racial Equity in Healthcare—Research for the Public Good Grant
Sep 2020 - UC Davis Teaching Assistant Consulting Fellow–Digital Initiatives Lead ‘20-‘21
Aug 2020. - UC Davis College of Letters and Sciences Dean’s Summer Graduate Fellowship
Apr 2020 - UC Davis Professors for the Future Fellow ‘20-‘21
Jun 2015 - UCLA Senior of the Year Award
Linguistic Society of America
Linguistic Society of America, Public Policy Committee
Linguistic Society of America, First Gen Access Committee
American Association for Applied Linguistics