by Share On Social!
Clinical trials can have big benefits.
They help researchers learn more to help slow, manage, and treat Alzheimer’s and cancer for ourselves and our abuelos, moms, dads, and others we love.
So then why don’t many Latinos join?
To address this issue, you’re invited to join our Zoom webinar — Why Should I Think about Joining a Clinical Trial? — at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022.
Webinar speakers Dr. Adolfo Diaz Duque of UT Health San Antonio and Dr. Bárbara Segarra-Vázquez of the University of Puerto Rico will help health care professionals and the Latino public understand clinical trial processes, explore trials as treatment options, and share testimonials of real Latinos who have benefited from trials.
Panelists will also cover the barriers that prevent trial participation, from language to immigration, and how to address barriers through practice and system changes.
This is the fifth webinar of a new series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The series is a collaboration of the Salud America! program at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, and Genentech.
Update 8/18/22: Watch the webinar!
Learn about the Speakers for this Webinar on Clinical Trials
Here are the panelists for the webinar, which will follow a question-and-answer discussion session format moderated by Dr. Amelie Ramirez.
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez is an internationally recognized researcher in Latino health promotion and behavioral change. She is director of Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research in the Department of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. She has spent over 30 years directing research on human and organizational communication to reduce chronic disease and cancer health disparities affecting Latinos, including cancer risk factors, clinical trial recruitment, tobacco prevention, obesity prevention, and promotion of health equity. She also is associate director of cancer outreach and engagement at the NCI-designated Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio.
Dr. Adolfo Diaz Duque is a hematologist-oncologist at the NCI-designated Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, where he serves as an associate professor in the Department of Medicine with the Division of Hematology-Oncology. He completed his Hematology-Oncology Fellowship and received a master’s degree in clinical investigation and translational science degree from UT Health San Antonio. His research and clinical interest focus on improving outcomes in patients with lymphomas and on health care disparities and underrepresented minorities. At the Mays Cancer Center, he is developing a research program investigating novel therapies in Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He currently serves as the institutional leader for several investigator-initiated, industry-sponsored, and cooperative group studies, and serves as Hematology Clinical Disease Site Team (CDST) lead since mid-2018. In parallel, he also serves as an Ambassador for the American Society of Hematology (ASH) since 2016.
Dr. Bárbara Segarra-Vázquez has been a faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico for more than 30 years, was the Dean of the School of Health Professions for seven years, and is the Principal Investigators of a R25 training program for young investigators funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Segarra-Vázquez is a member of SWOG Cancer Care Delivery Committee and the SWOG Patient Advocates Committee, where she works to increase diversity in every facet of clinical research, including recruiting more racial/ethnic minorities as SWOG members, leaders, and participants in clinical trials. She is also a member of the Patient Advisory Committee for ASCO’s Cancer LinQ, and is the Chair of the Susan G. Komen Advocates in Science Steering Committee. She has served several times as a consumer reviewer for the Breast Cancer Research Program of the Department of Defense. She is also a two-time cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2003 and was in remission for 13 years. She had a recurrence of metastatic breast cancer to the skin in 2017, had a mastectomy, and feels stronger than ever.
Dr. Juan Acosta is a US Board Certified Neurologist who currently is a Senior Medical Director/Manager in the NeuroImmunology group at US Medical Affairs at Genentech/Roche. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from his medical school in Caracas/Venezuela. He completed his neurology residency and clinical neurophysiology and research fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Juan pursued additional fellowship training at King’s College Hospital in London, UK and is also an accredited neurologist in the European Union. He has extensive experience in academia and private neurology practice in the US. Juan has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the past seven years, addressing patient’s medical needs in various neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and ALS.
Behind the Webinar Series on Health Equity
The “Let’s Address Health Equity Together” webinar series is a collaboration of the Salud America! program at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, and Genentech.
Salud America! is a national Latino-focused organization that creates culturally relevant and research-based stories, videos, and tools to inspire people to start and support healthy changes to policies, systems, and environments where Latino children and families can equitably live, learn, work, and play.
The Mays Cancer Center, also known as the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, has a mission to decrease the burden of cancer in San Antonio, South Texas and beyond. We bring South Texas a level of exceptional care that is comparable with the nation’s most respected programs. More patients put their trust in our program because we have a unique understanding of our community’s cancer care needs. We excel in delivering advanced therapies.
Founded more than 40 years ago as the first biotechnology company, Genentech is dedicated to the rigorous pursuit of science and the development and delivery of life-changing medicines for people facing serious diseases. Headquartered in South San Francisco, California and a proud member of the Roche Group, our community is united by a common purpose and sense of urgency to transform the future of healthcare. Learn more at gene.com.
By The Numbers
142
Percent
Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years
