About

Dr. Vargas joined CHRISTUS Children’s – Baylor College of Medicine primary care practice in 2022. She specializes in the care of children with complex needs including newborns who spent time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She established the NICU Next Steps Clinic at CHRISTUS Children’s to provide coordinated care to infants born prematurely and with complex conditions. She has extensive experience in this area as she previously served as Medical Director of the High-Risk Premature Infant Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center.

Dr. Vargas earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Harvard University. She received her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and later earned a Master of Science in Epidemiology there. She completed her internship and residency at Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, and fellowship training at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

Research and Publications:

• Nakagawa T., Guerra L., Storgion, S. Aerosolized Atropine as an Unusual Cause of Anisocoria in a Child with Asthma. Pediatric Emergency Care, 1993 June 9(3):153-4.
• Guerra, LM., Romano, PS., Samuels, SJ., Kass, PH. High-Risk Behavior Sequences in Adolescents by Ethnicity. Presented at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, May 3, 1999, in San Francisco, CA.
• Guerra, LM, Romano, PS., Samuels, SJ, Kass, PH. Ethnic Differences in Adolescent Substance Initiation Sequences. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 154(11):1089-1095, 2000 Nov.
• Murray-Garcia, JL, Garcia, JA, Schembri, ME, Guerra, LM. The Service Patterns of a Racially, Ethnically, and Linguistically Diverse Housestaff. Academic Medicine, Vol. 76, No.12/December 2001.
• Heger AH. Ticson L. Guerra L. Lister J. Zaragoza T. McConnell G. Morahan, M. Appearance of the genitalia in girls selected for non-abuse; review of hymenal\morphology and nonspecific findings. Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology. 15(1): 27-35, 2002 Feb.
• Heppenstall-Heger A. McConnell G. Ticson L. Guerra L. Lister J. Zaragoza T. Healing patterns in anogenital injuries; a longitudinal study of injuries associated with sexual abuse, accidental injuries, or genital surgery in the preadolescent child. Pediatrics. 112(4): 829-37, 2003 Oct.
• Toledo-Corral, CM, Vargas, LG, Goran, M., Weigensberg, MJ. Hemoglobin A1C above threshold cut-off levels are associated with decreased Beta-cell function in overweight Latino youth. Journal of Pediatrics. 160(5):751-6, 2012 May.