Aleli Ayala-Marin: An Èxito! Grad Working to Study Health Disparities



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by March 7, 2014, for the 2014 Èxito! program. Alelí Ayala-Marín San Juan, Puerto Rico Alelí M. Ayala-Marín, a licensed dietitian/nutritionist, is proud of her Puerto Rican roots. Ayala-Marín said her culture and heritage have made her attentive to the studying cancer health disparities in her home country, where she has earned an undergraduate degree in nutrition and dietetics and a master’s in public health with a concentration in epidemiology from the University of Puerto Rico (Medical Science Campus). She is currently coordinating a pilot study, “Cultivando La Salud,” an evidence-based educational intervention designed to increase screening ...

Read More

Starla Garcia: An Èxito! Grad Using Long-Distance Running Experience to Help People Outrace Health Problems



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by March 7, 2014, for the 2014 Èxito! program. Starla Garcia Houston, Texas Long-distance racing takes stamina and perseverance. Starla Garcia exuded these skills as a collegiate cross-country athlete—skills she learned from her father, who shelved his own dreams of a doctoral degree to take care of his family. Garcia is now employing perseverance to help underserved populations outrace the health problems they face in places like the colonias along the Texas-Mexico border, where she grew up. Garcia has been able to use her experiences and understanding of the Latino culture in the work she does as a member of the Hispanic Health Coalition in Houston, ...

Read More

Christina Carmona: An Èxito! Grad Making Positive Changes for Community Health



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by March 7, 2014, for the 2014 Èxito! program. Christina Carmona San Antonio, Texas Born and raised in San Antonio, Christina Carmona has seen how Latinos here often don’t get access to the care they need, or they face cultural myths, financial barriers or a lack of knowledge of disease prevention. Carmona used this experience to fuel her drive to improve Latino health. Wanting to make a positive change in her community and serve as a role model for her children, Carmona earneda bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas San Antonio and is currently pursuing a master’s in public health degree at The University of Texas Health Science Center School ...

Read More

Study: Latino, Black Physicians Needed to Eliminate Disparities



Blacks and Hispanics make up more than 25% of the U.S. population, but only 15% of doctors. More than 54% of African American, Hispanic and Asian patients select or depend on physicians of color for their care, making it critical for physicians from these backgrounds to provide medical care in the nation’s most racially and culturally diverse communities, according to a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The study also notes: 70% of non-English-speaking patients received care from African American, Hispanic or Asian physicians. Asian, Hispanic and Black patients were also found to be 19 to 26 times more likely to be cared for by physicians of their same race. Low-income patients were one-and-a-half to two times more likely to be cared for by Black, ...

Read More

Study: Minority Patients Mostly Treated by Non-White Doctors



Doctors who are black, Hispanic and Asian provide the most care to minority patients, according to a study that suggests changes under Obamacare may increase the burden for these physicians, Bloomberg reports. According to the report: More than half of minority patients and about 70 percent of non-English-speaking patients, groups more likely to have Medicaid or be uninsured, are cared for by a nonwhite doctor, according to a research letter today in JAMA Internal Medicine. President Barack Obama’s 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the biggest overhaul of the U.S. health-care system since the 1960s, is expected to insure millions of Americans who previously couldn’t afford health coverage. Though blacks and Hispanics represent 25 percent of the U.S. population, ...

Read More

Apply for the 2014 Éxito! Research Training and Intern Program



Interested candidates can apply for the 2014 Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program from now to March 7, 2014. Éxito!, a program of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will select 20 master’s-level students and health professionals from across the nation to attend a five-day summer institute June 2-6, 2014, in San Antonio, offering research information, tools, tips, role models and motivation to encourage participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying how cancer affects Latinos differently. Éxito! participants also are eligible to receive one of five $3,250 internships. Master’s-degree students or master’s-trained health professionals are encouraged to apply. Since launching in ...

Read More

Who is Èxito!: Jenny Castillo



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Jenny Castillo Austin, Texas Native San Antonio resident Jenny Castillo not only cares about helping Latinos get off the couch and get fit to beat disease, she also knows the value of incorporating culturally infused methods of physical activity. For example, her passion for flamenco and folklorico dance represent an exciting way to bring Latino families together to get active. Castillo plans to put her passion for dance and her knowledge of Mexican American culture to good use as she pursues a master’s degree in health and kinesiology at The University of Texas at San Antonio. She expects to graduate in 2013. She ...

Read More

Who is Èxito!: Bianca Flores



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. Bianca Flores Austin, Texas Bianca Flores, a third-generation Texan with Mexican ancestry, wanted to learn more about the Mexican American community. So she studied Spanish and Mexican Studies and, as she earned her undergraduate degree, increasingly identified herself with the many struggles people of color in the U.S. face, and the health inequalities they experience. Flores wanted to help Mexican Americans make positive changes, so she earned her a master’s degree in public health nursing from the University of Texas at Austin, and worked as a nurse and a nursing instructor. Now she directs health ...

Read More

Deadline Extended: Apply for Éxito! Training and Internships by 4/1/13



You now have until April 1, 2013, to apply for the 2013 Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program! Éxito! will select 20 master’s-level students and master’s trained health professionals from across the nation to attend a five-day summer institute June 3-7, 2013, in San Antonio, Texas, offering tools, tips, role models and motivation to encourage participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying how cancer affects Latinos differently. Éxito! participants also are eligible to receive a $5,000 internship. Why should you apply? Check out this video to see how Éxito! has changed Latinos' lives. Éxito! is funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the ...

Read More