Webinar: Reducing Latino Cancer Health Inequities Through Research, Outreach, and Training


Amelie Ramirez - UT Health San Antonio 1

Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, will share insight on Latino cancer on a webinar from the National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Research and its Office of Equity and Inclusion. The webinar is set for 12 p.m. ET on Oct. 2, 2024, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Ramirez's presentation is titled "Reducing Latino Cancer Health Inequities Through Research, Outreach, and Training." Register here for the webinar. Dr. Ramirez & Her Latino Cancer and Education Research Ramirez is an internationally recognized health disparities researcher at UT Health San Antonio. Here, she is professor and chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. ...

Read More

Dr. Eneida Nemecek: An Advocate for Latino Clinical Research Participation


Eneida Nemecek cancer research salud hero

As a child in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Dr. Eneida Nemecek learned the effort it takes to earn an education by literally going to college with her parents as they sought their degrees. “My parents are very young. I kind of went to college with both of them in the back of the classroom,” Nemecek said. “My dad ended up going to graduate school, also when I was still a little kid. We went to law school with him, too.” Nemecek followed her parents’ footsteps and eventually got her doctoral degree. Today she’s helping improve Latino health through clinical trial participation as associate director for clinical research at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute and professor of pediatrics and medical oncology at OHSU. Developing a Passion for ...

Read More

Watch Our Award-Winning Bilingual Video on Clinical Trials!



Our collaborative bilingual video — Why Hispanic Representation Matters — was a "Silver Winner" at both the 2024 W³ Awards and the 45th Annual Telly Awards! The video, created by Genentech with help from the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, the team behind Salud America!, shows why Latino participation in clinical trials is important for the future of clinical research. Clinical trials are studies with volunteers that can help researchers learn how to slow, manage, and treat different cancer and disease. “This massive underrepresentation of Latinos in clinical trials makes it hard for researchers to develop new treatments for this group, which suffers a heavy burden of cancer,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the ...

Read More

Daniel Ruben Flores: Following in His Family’s Medical Footsteps



As a doctor’s son, Daniel Ruben Flores grew up in his family’s pediatric clinic.   He and his siblings hammered away at their math and reading homework after school at the clinic, while their parents helped the sick.   Flores often paused to admire the handwritten letters – and drawings of his father with a stethoscope – on the wall from patients thanking the pediatrician for caring for them.  “Wow, all these other kids really appreciate my dad and all the work he’s doing,” Flores recalled fondly. “I feel like that just kind of motivates you ... to go into the field.”   Witnessing his father’s work and the impact he had on his patients helped spark a fire in Flores to pursue medicine and help people, too.  He’s taking big steps now – like ...

Read More

7 Research Opportunities You May Have Missed this Month



You can help create a healthier future.   Volunteers for registries, research programs, and clinical trials can help researchers learn how to slow, manage, and treat cancer and other diseases.  “With diverse research participation, researchers have more opportunity to create better prevention and treatments that work for all people,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.  Here are seven research opportunities based in San Antonio and beyond to explore this month! 1. Latina Health Reproductive Health Screenings University of Texas at San Antonio researchers are seeking Hispanic and Latina women between ages 50 and 65 living in San Antonio to comment about their last Pap ...

Read More

6 Health Disparities Women of Color Face and How We Can Address Them



As of 2023, there are 169 million women and 166 million men living in the US. While men and women share many of the same health risks and concerns, women have their own unique challenges, such as reproductive cancers and maternal health, and are more prone to certain diseases and adverse health conditions. Women, especially women from racial/ethnic and underserved populations, including Latinas, are exposed to barriers to healthcare resulting in worse health outcomes. Let’s explore six disparities impacting women’s health in the US. 1. Cancer Screenings Several cancers affect women more than men, or specifically impact women, such as cervical and ovarian cancers. This makes cancer screening so important for women. However, women, especially women of color, face a lot of ...

Read More

Webinar: What Does Your Health Story Say About You?



In March 2024, we invited organizations, leaders, and clinicians in The Alamo City to learn about the social determinants of health (SDOH) in San Antonio and how they could leverage the All of Us Research Program to promote health equity in research. This time, we are getting personal about your health by exploring the benefits of All of Us, including how you can get a free report about your genetic ancestry, your genetic traits (why you might love or hate cilantro), and risk for diseases. To learn more about your health story, watch our webinar, “What Does Your Health Story Say About You? Investing in Personal Health Through All of Us." Join us as we take a tour of the interactive All of Us Research Program portal and answer some of your burning questions about how the program can ...

Read More

Watch Webinar: How to Support Latino Cancer Survivors



Latinos with cancer face a challenging survivorship journey. Explore these cancer survivorship challenges at UT Health San Antonio’s webinar, “How to Support Latino Cancer Survivors,” which occurred at 11 a.m. Central on Monday, July 15, 2024. The webinar featured experts from the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, Genentech, as well as cancer survivors and safety-net organizations, who will explore cancer among Latinos and how to help them on the road to recovery. Topics covered patient advocacy, support groups, clinical trials, referrals to resources through screening for social determinants of health, and more. This is a part of a webinar series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The series is a collaboration of the Salud America! program at ...

Read More

What Is Having Long COVID-19 Really Like?



It wasn’t too long ago that COVID-19 threw life into chaos. Businesses shut their doors. Food and supplies ran low. We were separated from our loved ones and trapped indoors. Hospitals dealt with rising demand. Lives were lost. Years have passed since the pandemic and we’ve tried to distance ourselves from a time when distillers halted production to make hand sanitizer, grocery stores had lanes, and smiles were hidden behind masks. However, some are still living with a constant reminder of that time. For those with Long COVID-19, time hasn’t healed the wounds of the past as they still try to recover from the physical, mental, and emotional traumas of the condition. That’s why Health Confianza — a Bexar County health literacy initiative housed at The University of Texas ...

Read More