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Cliff Despres

Cliff Despres, who has more than a decade of experience in journalism and public relations, is communications director for Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.

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Articles by Cliff Despres

Dr. Amelie Ramirez to Serve as Chair the Women in Cancer Research Council


Dr. Amelie Ramirez san antonio women's hall of fame

Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and a leading health disparities researcher, will serve as the 2021-2022 chair of the the Women in Cancer Research Council of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The council organizes the activities of the members of the Women in Cancer Research group. This includes fostering career development, recognizing scientific achievements, and advising AACR leadership. Ramirez is currently serving a three-year term on the council through December 2022. "It is a great honor to serve as Chair of the Women in Cancer Research (WICR) Council for the 2021-2022 term. Despite the challenges we have seen during the pandemic, I am proud to say women in science are still making strides and progressing in the ...

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We Help UT Health San Antonio Do Everything it Takes



UT Health San Antonio is known for doing everything it takes. Everything it takes to treat COVID-19 patients, to change our teaching methods on a dime, to pass health provider exams on the first try, to partner in our community, and to find new cures for dreaded diseases. Our team at Salud America!, which is led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio, is excited to share the university's new “Everything It Takes” campaign. Ramirez is featured in the campaign. Visit EverythingItTakes.org. The campaign will have TV, radio, print, and digital ads. This includes Spanish-language materials, like this radio spot and this one. "We want all of San Antonio and South Texas to know that we’ll do 'Everything It Takes' to serve the health needs of patients in our region ...

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Award Winner: Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training



Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez’s Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program at UT Health San Antonio has been named a winner of Excelencia in Education’s “Examples of Excelencia.” The awards spotlight evidence-based programs that support Latino students in higher education. Éxito! was a finalist in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Excelencia in Education, a national group that promotes Latinos in higher education, announced the winning “Examples of Excelencia” on Oct. 28, 2021, in four categories—associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and community-based organizations. Watch the announcement. Éxito! won in the graduate category. "The four stand out programs are models of culturally responsive, asset-based efforts with evidence of effectiveness in recruiting, ...

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Roxy Harrison: Breast Cancer and Miracle Stories


Roxy Harrison breast cancer survivor featured

By Roxy Harrison Breast Cancer Survivor in San Antonio My name is Roxy Harrison and these are my miracle stories. My diagnosis story of both breast and ovarian cancer are a miracle! I noticed some discolouration under my right breast. I ignored it for a couple of months. It wouldn’t hurt but sometimes it would itch. I showed it to my primary care doctor. She said it’s probably just a heat rash, but if you’re concerned you can get a mammogram done. I was 37 so I wasn’t too worried. I did the mammogram, which I refer to as making pancakes. They call me back 2 weeks later that they want to do another one to compare. Why they would think something could change in 2 weeks is beyond me, but no problem. I do another one. Then they wanted me to do an ...

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Jeraldine Ortiz: Encontrando Vida a Través de un Estudio Clínico de Cáncer de Seno


Jeraldine Ortiz Breast Cancer Survivor Clinical Trial featured

Jeraldine Ortiz sabe que el cáncer de seno es difícil para las latinas. El cáncer de seno es la causa principal de muerte entre latinas. Esto se debe a las barreras culturales para la atención de salud, las bajas tasas de detección temprana y la baja participación en los estudios clínicos que buscan encontrar mejores tratamientos. Esta es la razón por la que Ortiz, cuando fue diagnosticada con cáncer de seno, decidió participar en un estudio clínico. Hoy, después de más de 15 años como sobreviviente de cáncer, Ortiz dijo que cree firmemente que su participación en un estudio clínico de UT Health San Antonio la ayudó a obtener un mejor tratamiento y una mejor calidad de vida después del cáncer. "Los estudios clínicos dan la oportunidad de un mejor ...

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Workshop: How to Advance Systemic Change to Reduce Obesity


obesity workshop roundtable latina girl grocery store fruit

Latinos and other people of color suffer high rates of obesity. This is often due to racist policies and discriminatory practices that create less access to healthcare, healthy food, affordable housing, and financial resources for families of color. What can we do about this? You are invited to join a virtual workshop, "Systems and Obesity: Advances and Innovations for Equitable Health and Well-Being," on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 (10 a.m. To 2:45 p.m. ET) and Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 (1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET). This is the third workshop in a series from the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions of the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Find the results of the first and second workshop. "The workshop will explore how to ...

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Alma López: Mejor Salud a Través de un Estudio Clínico de Cáncer de Seno


Alma Lopez-breast-cancer-clinical-trial

El cáncer de Seno es la causa principal de muerte en las latinas. Pero Alma López ha sido una sobreviviente de cáncer de seno por más de 15 años. Ella cree que su participación en un estudio clínico de UT Health San Antonio la ayudó a tener un mejor tratamiento y a largo plazo una mejor salud en su camino de supervivencia. "Los estudios clínicos pueden encontrar tratamientos nuevos que ayudan a las personas", dijo López. "Y ayudan a los científicos. Ofrecen la oportunidad de tratamientos mejores para todas las poblaciones. Construyen un futuro mejor". López Decidió Participar en un Estudio Clínico de Cáncer de Seno Aproximadamente hace 15 años, López fue diagnosticada con cáncer de seno. López comenzó a considerar sus opciones de tratamiento. Al ...

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Report: 1 in 5 Latino Youth Have Obesity


Latino youth have obesity rwjf report from seattle

One in six U.S. youth have obesity, but the issue is worse among Latinos and other youth of color, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). More than one in five Latino (21.4%), Black (23.8%), and American Indian/Alaska Native (28.7%) children ages 10-17 have obesity. The reasons? Structural racism and systemic health inequities. Racist policies and discriminatory practices affect our food system, access to healthcare, affordable housing, and critical family supports like childcare, the RWJF report says. Together, the effects of these policies and practices force families into hard choices on how to spend limited resources, especially during COVID-19. “The state of childhood obesity in America is an urgent call to action for leaders at all ...

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Been in a Clinical Trial? We Want to Share Your Story!


Clinical trial - share your story

Are you Latino? Have you participated in a clinical trial related to cancer, Alzheimer’s, or another condition? If so, we want to talk with you and share your story! Salud America! is looking to interview and write stories about heroes like you — Latinos who have participated in a clinical trial — to showcase the benefits of volunteering to inspire other Latinos to volunteer, too. Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez’s Salud America! program at UT Health San Antonio is sharing the stories of clinical trial heroes with the support of Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. “Clinical trials are studies that help researchers learn more and more to help slow, manage, and treat Alzheimer's and cancer,” Ramirez said. “Clinical trials help us fight for our familia.” To share ...

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