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When Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez founded the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio in 2006, she envisioned it as a place to cultivate innovative health research and the next generation of population health leaders.
20 years later, past members of the IHPR’s team have gone on to achieve ground-breaking research, training, and other big accomplishments.
Here are just a few folks we are so proud of!
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina: From Cancer Researcher to Research Leader
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina served as a professor at the IHPR at UT Health San Antonio from 2008 to 2016.
At the IHPR, Parra-Medina led several theory-based, culturally competent research projects to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and encourage healthy habits in families in South Texas.
Parra-Medina went on to launch the Latino Cancer Research Institute at UT Austin, where she served as director and professor from 2016 to 2024.
For the past two years, she has served as executive director and professor of a health center in the Department of Family Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Overall, Parra-Medina has over 20 years of research and program experience in disease prevention with underserved groups in many geographic and community settings.
She also pays it forward as a mentor.
“What gives me hope is seeing more women bringing diverse perspectives to public health challenges and mentoring the next generation,” she said.
Read more about Deborah Parra-Medina.
Dr. Cynthia Mojica: Taking a Closer Look at Colon Cancer Screening
Dr. Cynthia Mojica served as an assistant professor in research at the IHPR at UT Health San Antonio from 2009-2015.
At the IHPR, Mojica led several research projects, including one to create a tailored and language-relevant print-based tool to persuade men to get colorectal cancer screening.
Mojica went on to serve as associate professor of health promotion and health behavior in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University, where she leads health services research and program evaluation in cancer prevention and control among ethnic minority and underserved populations, particularly Latinos.
Her research engages community-based organizations, health centers, and community members in the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions designed to decrease cancer health issues and increase access to health care.
For example, in February 2026, Mojica published new research focused on improving follow-up care after abnormal colorectal cancer screening results.
Read more about Cynthia Mojica.
Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos: Improving Health Behaviors in Our Population
Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos served as a research instructor at the IHPR at UT Health San Antonio from 2009-2016.
She worked alongside Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina to study culturally competent ways to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine to help prevent cervical cancer in South Texas.
Since her time at the IHPR, Morales-Campos served as research assistant professor and area director of training programs at UT Auston from 2016 to 2024.
Today, she is an associate professor at UTHealth Houston.
Overall, Morales-Campos’ research interests include public health education, cancer prevention, and maintenance of behavior change among Hispanics.
She has extensive experience in the design and implementation of community-based participatory research, culturally appropriate research methods and protocols, cancer screening studies, and interventions for Hispanics utilizing a promotora model.
Read more about Daisy Morales-Campos.
Sandra San Miguel: Helping Cancer Survivors from Research to Leadership
Dr. Sandra San Miguel was an original faculty member at IHPR at UT Health San Antonio, serving from its establishment in 2006 to 2016.
During her time at IHPR, San Miguel helped develop patient navigation and community health worker programs that support cancer survivors.
She also co-founded Breast Friends Forever (BFF), a support group for young breast cancer survivors to share their experiences in San Antonio, Texas.
For the past 10 years, San Miguel has worked as a program director at the National Cancer Institute, where she has contributed to the Screen to Save program and programs to advance cancer health and clinical trial participation.
San Miguel also is currently an advisor for the National Hispanic Medical Association’s Hispanic Leadership Development Fellowship.
Read more about Sandra San Miguel.
Amanda Merck: From Covering Transportation to Becoming an Urban Planner
From 2015-2024, Amanda Merck worked as a digital content curator for the Salud America! program and IHPR at UT Health San Antonio.
Merck covered news, stories, and action on transportation, city planning, green spaces, physical activity, childhood trauma, and other non-medical drivers of health.
For example, she wrote how trauma changes a child’s brain and body. She shared how bike advocates got the first protected bike lane law. She explored screening for the non-medical drivers of health through the lens of Nemours, Dallas Children’s, and others.
But Merck didn’t only write about change, she helped drive change.
Merck advocated in San Antonio, coordinated a fairness-in-transportation work group, and led national efforts to generate public comments on federal traffic crash reporting, vehicle safety ratings, neighborhood planning policies, incorporating urban planners in health policy development, and more.
She also helped Salud America! create the Salud Report Card, which auto-generates local data, maps, and gauges to help you visualize and explore health issues.
Today, Merck is leveling up to achieve even greater change in the future.
She is an urban planning doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she focuses on transportation as a non-medical driver of health.
“Beyond physical activity, pollution exposure, and injuries/fatalities, I am also interested in the social, economic, and health consequences of inadequate transportation,” Merck said.
Read more about Amanda’s Salud America! work.
Shannon Baldwin: From Public Health to Legal Advocate
From 2012-2015, Shannon Baldwin worked as a digital content curator for the Salud America! program and IHPR at UT Health San Antonio.
She helped to craft dynamic and engaging Salud Hero stories to showcase people making grassroots-level healthy changes across the country.
For example, Baldwin covered a teacher who started a school garden in El Paso, Texas, a parent group that brought a fresh food station in Fairfax, Va., and a community that led a sugary drinks tax in California.
After her time at IHPR, she earned a law degree at South Texas College of Law Houston in 2018, adding it to her political science degree from Trinity University.
Today, Baldwin is working for people’s rights as a legal associate at Bracewell LLP.
In June 2026, she was recognized in the 2026 edition of Legal 500 United States 2026, which ranks the country’s top law firms and attorneys.
Read more about Shannon’s Salud America! work.
Rosalie Aguilar: From Health Communicator to Researcher to Dental Surgeon
From 2012-2015, Rosalie Aguilar worked as a digital content curator for the Salud America! program and IHPR at UT Health San Antonio.
She then took over as Salud America! program coordinator from 2015-2021.
As coordinator, Aguilar organized meetings, built relationships with network members, monitored benchmarks, worked on program development, and contributed to research proposals, reports, and scientific manuscripts.
For example, she helped lead a study that proved that planned, culturally relevant social media events can be a powerful tool for public health practitioners and advocates to engage audiences around health issues and solutions.
In addition, during her time at IHPR, she earned a doctoral degree in translational sciences from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio in 2020.
Aguilar went on to serve as project coordinator for a holistic oral health program from nursing home residents via the School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio. She was also co-director of the Dental Education Network for Texas (DENT ECHO), which helps primary oral health care providers in delivering quality dental care for patients across Texas.
Today, she is a doctoral candidate in dental surgery at UT Health San Antonio.
Read more about Rosalie’s Salud America! work.
Rick Carrillo: Bringing Salud Heroes to Life Through Video
From 2012-2019, Rick Carrillo worked as the video production manager for the Salud America! program and IHPR at UT Health San Antonio.
He helped establish the Salud America! Salud Hero videos series showcasing dozens of role models making healthy changes in their communities. Rick travelled across Texas, Colorado, Florida, to film interview heroes and enable them to tell their stories, which helped motivate viewers to implement similar changes in their areas.
Specifically in San Antonio, you can watch Rick’s videos of how local heroes got more buses, added a baby café, built community gardens, and made schools trauma sensitive.
Watch Rick’s Salud Hero video series here.
Rick also helped create the Salud America! Salud Talks Podcast, which is still active to inform listeners of health issues and trends impacting the Latino community.
Today, Rick is the group leader for creative services at Southwest Research Institute, where he is responsible for leading a multidisciplinary creative team to design and deliver compelling content that brings client stories to life.
Rick oversees video, photo, and graphic design staff, providing direction, mentorship, and creative support to ensure visual consistency, brand alignment, and high-quality deliverables across all media.
Read more about Rick Carrillo.
Guadalupe Cornejo: Training the Next Generation of Community Health Workers
From 2009 to 2011, Guadalupe Cornejo served as a community health worker (CHW) at the IHPR at UT Health San Antonio.
Guadalupe is CHW at heart, whether called a promotora de salud or patient navigator.
In her role at IPR, she shared the culture and language of her San Antonio community, acted as a trusted bridge between community members and the healthcare system and local resources, and navigated cancer patients through their journeys.
She went on to earn her master’s degree in social work at UT San Antonio, implementing community outreach programs and promoting wellness and health in the community.
Today, Gudalupe is an associate dean at Northwest Vista College of the Alamo Colleges District, where she has helped train and mentor the next generation of community health workers and promotoras.
She is also founder of the San Antonio Community Health Workers Association.
Read more about Guadalupe Cornejo.
Looking Forward to the Future of All Current IHPR Team Members!
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, IHPR Professor, Director, and Founder
Dr. Patricia Chalela, IHPR, Associate Professor/Research
Dr. Rebecca Jones, IHPR, Assistant Professor and Assistant Director
Dr. Derek Rodriguez, IHPR, Assistant Professor/Research
Adame-Contreras, Emiliano, Research Assistant
Arcaute, Suzerain, Grants/Contracts Spec-Lead
Cardenas, Jacqueline, Research Assistant
Carmona, Carla, Research Assistant
Carranco, Sergio, Research Assistant
Cortez, Vivian, Research Coordinator
Despres, Cliff, Senior Director, Communications
Duran Zamora, Mauren, Research Assistant
Escalante, Alyssa, Communications Specialist-Snr
Flores, Armida, Community Outreach Coord
Lew, Ysabel Rose, Research Assistant-Senior
Llamas, Sarai, Research Area Spec-Int
McGee, Tracy, Accountant-Intermediate
Munoz, Edgar, Data Scientist
Nevarez Ramos, Juan, Research Assistant
Oranday, Crystal, Community Health Worker
Orozco, Nicolette, Special Events Planner
Padron, Ivana, Research Assistant
Pinto, Courtney, Research Coordinator
Puckett, Caroline, Research Area Spec-Assoc
Rincon-Sanchez, Sonia, Community Health Worker
Sivak, Sandra, Research Coordinator
Stewart, Catherine, Communications Specialist-Snr
Zuniga, Sahira, Community Outreach Coordinator-Snr
Read the IHPR’s 20th anniversary booklet!
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of stories and videos celebrating the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio on Oct. 1, 2006.
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