Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Elie Benavidez
San Antonio, Texas A few years ago, Elie Benavidez was in the middle of her studies in San Antonio when she got a heartbreaking phone call: “Your mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.” Benavidez, with her mother’s encouragement, maintained her studies. Five years later, her mother—and other family members—are survivors, giving Benavidez all the motivation and support she needs to positively impacting the lives of students as a teacher and the community as an aspiring public health worker. “They taught me that, even though something bad has happened, they can still persevere,” ...
Find the latest in Latino health—from fighting Latina breast cancer to helping Latinos pursue doctoral degrees—in the new E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. The E-newsletter has these stories: Story and Video: Giving Latinas a Chance vs. Breast Cancer (Pg 1)
Story: How a Typewriter Helped a Latina Launch a Career in Health Promotion (Pg 2)
Story and Video: Depression after Cancer Keeps Latinas from Follow-Up Care (Pg 3)
Story: Apply by 3/1/12 for Éxito Program to Get Help Pursuing a Doctoral Degree (Pg 5)
Story: San Antonio Schools Get Salad Bars (Pg 6)
Story and Video: Latino Man Works to Interrupt Street Violence (Pg 8 ) The E-newsletter is jam-packed ...
Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind Salud America!, is among a handful of people named "Champions of Change" by the Obama White House for their contributions to ending suffering from breast cancer, the leading cancer diagnosed in women today. Each week the White House highlights "Champions" who are making an impact in their communities and helping to meet the challenges of the 21st century. “I am honored to be named a ‘Champion of Change.’ I hope it puts a spotlight on breast cancer, the No. 1 cancer killer of Latinas,” Dr. Ramirez said. “We must conduct research to discover new and efficient methods to help Latinas overcome critical barriers to breast cancer ...
Latinas, even if you've heard it before, please listen: Cancer screening can save your life. To see why, watch our new dramatic PSA where a Latino family with a history of breast cancer discusses the importance of getting a mammogram that can detect breast cancer early, when it's most treatable: Watch in Spanish here. Please leave a comment on how you liked the PSA. For cancer info, call ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, a native of Laredo, Texas, and leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 Commencement of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine. Ramirez is an internationally recognized researcher in cancer and chronic disease health disparities among Latinos. At UT Health San Antonio, she is chair and professor of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio, where she also is founding director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research and associate director of community outreach and engagement at the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. Over the past 30 years, Ramirez has led over 100 studies and programs to reduce health disparities, improve health equity, and ...
After careful consideration, the Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) at UT Health San Antonio and UTSA College for Health, Community, and Policy (HCaP) have announced the recipients of new Community Engagement Small Project Grants.
Five grantees were chosen to lead projects covering HIV/AIDS, faith’s impact on criminal rehabilitation, artistic influence on young brain development, and more, according to a recent university news release.
The grants, for one year and up to $5,000, aim to promote, develop, and expand community and scholarly research partnerships that benefit science and clinicians. Each project will meet local needs through community-engaged research or assessment, education, and distributing research results or policy implications.
This ...
For the last few years, the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program has mounted an unprecedented effort to collect health data from 1 million people of all ages and ethnicities across the country for use in impactful scientific research.
In fact, the data has led researchers to a shocking discovery — 275 million previously unknown genetic variants, according to a recent news release.
Nearly 4 million of the variants are in areas that may be connected to risk for disease.
The variants, uncovered using data shared by nearly 250,000 All of Us participants, put researchers in a position to better understand genetic influences on health and disease, especially in diverse communities often left out of research.
NIH reported that half the genomic data came from Latino, ...
Where you live can have a big impact on your health. In fact, our health is influenced by a variety of non-medical factors, such as the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, and age. These conditions are known as social determinants of health (SDoH). Addressing SDoH is key to improving health for Latinos and all people, said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, in a panel presentation on Dec. 5, 2023, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. "What we’re finding is that these inequities in SDoH can create social needs that negatively impact our health," Ramirez said.
Screening for Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)
Studies suggest that SDoH accounts for between 30-55% of health outcomes. SDoH also influences individual ...
Dr. Veronica Ramirez is the first physician in her family. The youngest of four children, Ramirez grew up in Escondido, California, with an interest in service. She watched her parents generously help others and give back to the community. So, when Ramirez’s aunt, who she was very close to, was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in her late 30s, Ramirez was motivated to take her service orientation to a new level – medical school – to help those like her aunt. “Seeing her go through that experience inspired me to want to go into medicine to help others,” Ramirez said. Ramirez has done more than achieve her goal. As an assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, a hospitalist with UCLA Health, and a fellow ...
