Janette Ramirez: Big Goals to Help Underserved Communities

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Janette Ramirez was looking for a way to help people.

In her search, she walked into the Center for Service Learning, Internships & Civic Engagement (SLICE) at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).

Ramirez jumped into multiple SLICE programs and helped empower the local community to overcome social injustices and disparities in health, education, and economic opportunities – and she left with a passion for serving others.

“That’s how I came to find my love for community service and serving others, because, you know, it’s just really important,” Ramirez said.

Today, Ramirez is still seeking to help as many people as she can.

As a medical student going into her second year at Midwestern University in Arizona and as a Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials intern at UT Health San Antonio’s Institute for Health Promotion Research, Ramirez continues to work toward becoming a doctor who cares for underserved communities.

Forging a Career Path

A native of Southern California, Ramirez grew up with a close-knit family of her parents and three siblings.

Ramirez began as an undergraduate at CSUDH, majoring in cellular and molecular biology.

It was there where she first developed a passion for helping vulnerable communities, where the need is greater, and further grew her love for science.

“I enjoy science. I enjoy the human body and how it works. It’s amazing, so if you just put those two things together, there you go, that’s how you come up with doctor,” Ramirez said.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, Ramirez applied and got into medical school in Arizona.

“When I was leaving, my mom’s like, ‘Why can’t you go to school in California?’ But you know, sometimes parents don’t understand that it’s really hard just getting into medical school,” Ramirez said.

Growing with Experience and Opportunity

Through her academic career, Ramirez took every opportunity to get hands-on experience.

Starting during her undergrad, Ramirez met Dr. Sophia Momand, a primary care doctor, and began helping provide care to homeless communities in Long Beach, California, on weekends.

“I would help expedite. So, I’ll call on the next patient, and I’ll give her whatever materials she needed and then we’ll do the next patient,” Ramirez said.

This would allow Ramirez to see the importance of caring for people in vulnerable communities.

“[Dr. Momand] showed me that even on your free time, on the weekends, you could help people, even if you don’t do it full time. There’s always going to be some time to help,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez credits the mentorship of Dr. Momand in her service and medical journeys.

She also shared praise for Cheryl McKnight, director of the SLICE program at CSUDH, for her help in finding internships and community service opportunities.

Ramirez also had the chance to present to Native American communities about health disparities with assistance from McKnight, who served as a director for a Native American rehabilitation and treatment center.

“I actually applied for a scholarship, and I got it so that I can present to them, talk to them about diabetes, and if they have diabetes, how to avoid diabetes. So I actually went to the rehab center and did those presentations,” she said.

Opening a Path to Scientific Research

Ramirez seized another opportunity by applying for the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials: Clinical Investigator Pathway Program, created by Bristol Myers Squibb, in 2023.

The program, which supports up-and-coming professionals looking to advance diversity in clinical trials, has unlocked the realm of scientific research for Ramirez.

“I’m just seeing all the background work, hard work that goes behind these research articles. And I’m just seeing how important it is. Because if these articles don’t get done, then nothing, there’s no improvements in this world,” she said.

As part of her internship, Ramirez is working at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio and the Mays Cancer Center, an NCI-designated Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, throughout summer 2024.

Ramirez is contributing to the IHPR’s Avanzando Caminos (Leading Pathways): The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Study.

Avanzando Cominos is a 6-year clinical trial funded by the National Cancer Institute to recruit 3,000 Latino cancer survivors to help understand how different issues impact survivors’ symptom burdens, health-related quality of life, and disease activity.

Latinos can join the study here.

“That has impacted me because I could see another side of research and another side of cancer patients,” Ramirez said.

The Importance of Believing in Yourself

Along the way, Ramirez said the path toward a medical education can be bumpy.

“My main challenge was getting accepted to medical school, like getting a good score on the MCAT. I actually applied to medical school twice,” Ramirez said.

As she enters her second year of medical school, Ramirez is still undecided on what type of medicine she wants to focus on, but she loves the idea of studying pediatrics and potentially having a clinic for children one day.

She also hopes to serve with Doctors Without Borders.

“That’s one thing that I want to do,” Ramirez said. “For sure, I want to work with the underserved populations, which I have been doing throughout my whole educational career.”

Ramirez finds motivation in keeping her goals in mind and making progress, one step at a time.

“You just have to say, ‘I could do it. I could do it.’ Because if you don’t, you’re just going to give up and all the information is just going to pile on top of you, and you’re not going to get it done,” Ramirez said.

For Ramirez, her advice is the same for other Latinos looking to pursue medicine.

“My biggest advice is just keep going and don’t give up,” Ramirez said.