On Oct. 1, 2006, the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) was launched. This week, on Oct. 1, 2026, the IHPR will celebrate its 20th anniversary as part of the Department of Population Health Sciences in the School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, under the leadership of Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez. In the past two decades, the IHPR team has worked tirelessly to achieve its mission to improve the health of Latinos and all people through research, outreach, and action in South Texas and across the United States. But how did it start? Who started it? Why was it needed? Let’s answer those questions and more!
The Need for the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR)
On April 17, 2006, the Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas released a report, Code ...
The Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) and the UTSA College of Health, Community and Policy announced the winners of the 2026 IIMS Community Engagement Small Project Grants program. Seven community-academic partnerships from South Texas, focused on topics from men’s health to caregiving, each have been awarded a $5,000 grant. The aim is to translate research into public health benefits. Grants are available to newly developed or current partnerships with projects focused on research/assessment, education/training, and/or dissemination/communication of research results, program features, or policy implications.
Dr. Erika Brigmon, Gabrielle Capesius, and Lacy Lichtenhan
“Arts for Justice: The Story of Firearm-related Violence from a Youth ...
With cancer still a top health threat, UT Health San Antonio leaders and national cancer experts have published an online book with innovative recommendations to reduce cancer among Latinos and all people. The book, “Advancing Cancer Research for Latinos and All Populations: 2026 Conference Proceedings,” highlights results of the same-named conference that brought 350 researchers, advocates, and survivors to San Antonio in February 2026. A follow-up conference is planned for Feb. 23-25, 2028, in San Antonio. Included in the book are promising research findings on Latino cancer and strategies for new research covering the entire cancer continuum. This includes advances in genetics, prevention, screening, detection, treatment, survivorship, and policy, said Dr. Amelie ...
Colon cancer screening doesn’t have to be dramatic. That’s the message that Abbott is promoting in their new Spanish-language campaign for Cologuard Plus®. Gabriela Spanic, award-winning actress, model, writer, and singer, stars in the campaign that uses telenovelas and culturally relevant storytelling to make a difficult conversation about colon cancer screening more approachable and less dramatic. “The need is urgent. When colon cancer is found early, 90% of patients survive five years or more after diagnosis,” according to the press release from Abbott.
About the Campaign on Colon Cancer Screening
While the campaign has a humorous, telenovela style, Spanic also delivers an important message: “Although life can be dramatic, getting screened doesn’t have to ...
The U.S. is home to many Latinos and other people with different backgrounds, but many suffer unfair health challenges and heavy burdens of cancer and dementia. More research needs to be done to understand the impact, vulnerabilities, and risks these communities face.
To accurately study the health consistencies in these groups, more of them need to participate in clinical research and clinical trials, which are studies with volunteers that test ways to find, prevent, and treat cancer and other diseases.
As of 2023, only 6% of trials being conducted to get FDA drug approval reflected the variety in the U.S. population, according to a new study published in Communications Medicine.
Let’s dive into the study and how to improve clinical trial enrollment. Study Findings on Clinical ...
Latinos and other overlooked populations have a high burden of cancer, fueled by struggles with non-medical drivers of health like transportation and insurance. Researchers are studying these factors to improve cancer outcomes for these groups. Yet too few Latinos and others are engaged in research. For example, as of 2023, only 6% of FDA trials reflect the U.S. population. To improve research participation and ensure innovations work for all populations, Genentech, a top pharmaceutical company and member of the Roche Group, decided to take a more hands-on approach and launched the AIR Site Alliance in 2021. Since its inception, Genentech’s AIR Site alliance oncology sites have helped enroll 63% more people from overlooked ...
Are you up for a challenge? If you’re a translational science student or community member working on research in San Antonio, you are invited to the 2026 Virtual T1-T4 in 3 (Minutes) Challenge. The challenge — hosted by the Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) and the Office of Research Education & Mentoring, and Community Engagement at UT Health San Antonio — invites presenters to share their research in 3 minutes and 1 slide to a live audience of community members, students, and faculty. This free online event is from 9-10:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Challenge participants can be students/trainees in any translational science program at UT Health San Antonio. Community members who are part of a community-academic partnership who have ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, a cancer researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research and the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, is receiving a 2-year, $400,000 leadership grant to study cancer survivorship from Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization. Ramirez aims to enhance recovery for cancer survivors. In a group of Latina breast cancer survivors in South Texas, Ramirez will compare two rehabilitation approaches — standard physical therapy and therapeutic yoga — to see how they impact health-related quality of life, fatigue, and physical function over 16 weeks. Therapeutic yoga involves controlled movement, breath regulation, and meditative practices. "By focusing on the whole person and listening to survivor experiences, we hope ...
The US is on the verge of a complete health care overhaul. These changes include Medicaid eligibility, cuts to funding, and changes making accessibility and renewal more difficult. According to a new UnidosUS report, this overhaul is projected to cut the health care of nearly 14 million Americans with the mass majority being Latino over the next 10 years. Unless action is taken to intervene and counteract these changes, millions are anticipated to lose health insurance, leading to unaffordable treatment and care costs and worse health outcomes. Let’s break down the report and how these coverage changes impact the health of Latinos and all families.
Significant Health Care Coverage Changes
The report highlights two significant acts ...
