Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program. Maritza Pulido
San Francisco, Calif. Growing up in California, Maritza Pulido had a strong-willed father who would object to her being placed into English-as-a-second-language classes just because of her last name. Now she is an advocate for those who are mislabeled due to their last name and race. Pulido, who developed a compassion for Latinos through her studies abroad in Chile and her travel throughout Latin America, wants to see educational equity for all people. She also values empowering youth toward education and overall betterment. To that end, she earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program. Christina Olson
San Diego, Calif. With a long-felt desire to study science and encouragement from her family, it was not a shock when Christina Olson earned a neuroscience degree in college. However, her interest in public health came as a surprise. When a close supervisor and mentor encouraged her to “sit at that table” and pursue public health, she did just that, moving to Washington, D.C., to work in international and border health policy and finishing a master’s degree in public health from San Diego State University. To expand her passion for public health and to consider pursuing a doctoral degree, Olson applied ...
In 2004, 26 Latina breast cancer survivors from South Texas shared their stories to inspire hope, comfort, and resiliency in a bilingual booklet called Nuestras Historias. Today, many of the survivors have new, heart-warming stories to tell about how Latinas can survive cancer and thrive in the workplace, school, home, and family on the 10th anniversary of the booklet, which was produced by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and her Redes En Acción Latino cancer research network funded by the National Cancer Institute. They vivacious survivors have been living in "technicolor," you might say. Indeed, check out a new story, "Latina Survivors Savor a Decade of Living in Technicolor," on Pages 12-15 of the UT Health Science Center's Mission ...
Do you know what a Salud Hero looks like? Find out by watching the new Salud America! Salud Heroes YouTube channel to see how people across the country are pushing for healthy changes—in nutrition, physical activity, and marketing—for Latino kids in their community. You’ll start seeing #SaludHeroes all around you. They’re teachers. Doctors. Activists. They’re schools. Nonprofit groups. Entire cities. They’re even your own children! For example, watch our six new videos of #SaludHeroes who reduced sugary drinks and improved healthy marketing among Latino kids (and vote for your favorite!) “Watch the steps these Salud Heroes take, from learning about the issue of obesity, to getting an idea, to building support, and generating long-term change,” said ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program. Eduardo Santiago-Rodriguez
Naranjito, Puerto Rico Despite growing up in poverty-stricken neighborhoods in Naranjito, Puerto Rico, Eduardo Santiago-Rodriguez was able to see the sincerity and beauty of the environments, people and culture—and he learned and important lesson: “Great things can be done to help others with only giving your time.” Motivated by his childhood experiences and family support, Santiago-Rodriguez earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus, and a master’s degree public health in epidemiology from the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences ...
Find the latest advances in Latino health—from cancer survival to solving park access to how to improve mental health—in the IHPR Noticias E-newsletter. IHPR Noticias has lots of info on the latest local and national health disparities-related news, resources and events: Story: Latinas—10 Years after Breast Cancer Survival (Pg. 1)
Profile: Mentees Promote Healthier Lifestyles in San Antonio (Pg. 2)
Story: Latino Researchers among Recipients of $8 Million in Grants to Study Cancer (Pg. 3)
Scholarships: How to Fight Health Disparities in Your Area & Get a Scholarship for It! (Pg. 4)
Story: How to Solve San Antonio’s Low Park Access Score (Pg. 6)
Story: White Students Now a Minority in School; Hispanic Numbers Surge (Pg. 8)
Resources: Tackling Mental Health, ...
Apply now for the 2015 Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. 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 2015, 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. Master’s-degree students or master’s-trained health professionals are encouraged to apply. Since launching in 2011, Éxito! has had 78 participants. Nearly 40% of all program graduates have applied to doctoral programs and 27% are ...
Julie La Fuente Louviere of San Antonio has fought—and survived—three bouts of breast cancer. She doesn’t let cancer keep her down. The wife and mother of two has lost weight, ran a half-marathon, celebrated 25 years of marriage, turned 50, become a grandmother, and watched her oldest graduate from law school. "Survivorship means I am able to wake up every morning and be a wife to my husband, a mom to my girls, now a glam'ma to my grandson and loving aunt and sister," Louviere said. "It means I can be an active part of the present and never take life's moments for granted." Louviere is among the 16 local Latina survivors who will celebrate a decade of cancer survival, triumph, and resiliency as part of the 10th anniversary of Nuestras Historias. Nuestras Historias, a 2004 ...
U.S. adult obesity rates remained high overall, and highest among Latino adults and children, according to a new report. The report, The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), found that adult obesity rates did not decrease in any states, increased in six states, and now exceed 35% for the first time in two states, and are not below 21% in any. Highest rates: Mississippi and West Virginia (35.1%), Arkansas (34.6%), and Tennessee (33.7%). Lowest rates: Colorado (21.3%), Hawaii (21.8%), Washington, D.C. (22.9%), and Massachusetts (23.6%). Disparities persist, with adult obesity rates the highest in the South and among Latinos, Blacks, and lower-income, less-educated ...
