Hector R. Perez is an Associate Professor of Medicine, primary care physician and clinical investigator at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center (Einstein/Montefiore). His research focus is on improving health outcomes in patients with chronic pain. He is a past awardee of an NIH Career Development Award to develop and pilot test a behavioral intervention to facilitate opioid tapering in primary care. He is a current Co- Principal Investigator on the NIH-funded VOICES trial, a clinical trial to test Acceptance and Commitment Therapy versus a behavioral care management smartphone application in patients with chronic pain and opioid use disorder at Montefiore-Einstein. Previously, he has received grants to study Virtual Reality in patients with chronic pain and opioid use disorder and he has received a NIH-NIDA Diversity Supplement to study racial and ethnic disparities in pain and substance use in patients living with HIV and chronic pain. He mentors two faculty members with active pilot and career development grants.

Dr. Perez has received numerous recognitions for his work, including being named a NIDA Diversity Scholar in 2016, a NIH-NHMA Academic Career Development Fellow in 2016, and a NIMHD Research Institute Scholar in 2017. He was also named a Finalist for Best Junior Faculty Abstract at the Society of General Internal Medicine in 2017, a Top Peer Reviewer by the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2023, and a Montefiore Department of Medicine Faculty Scholar Award in 2023. His work has been highlighted in a Montefiore public relations campaign titled "Mind Over Matter;" the 5 minute video has been seen by over 2.7 million people on Youtube and by millions more on the Yankees Entertainment Network.