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Check out this great profile of Latina public health research Dr. Larissa Avilés Santa.
The profile, by CienciaPR, chronicles Avilés Santa’s career development, from how she got interested in anatomy and endocrinology in 4th grade in elementary school, studied medicine and translational research in Puerto Rico, worked in heart disease prevention and diabetes clinical trials at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 2006.
Now she is directing the largest-ever study on U.S. Latino health (the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos).
Avilés Santa said the initial results from the large study indicate high risks for diabetes and heart disease among Latinos, creating new opportunities for interventions to improve Latino health.
“The goal of both medicine and public health is to improve health,” she says. “The difference between them is big. In the clinic you have an individual relationship with the patient, an intimacy. This is especially true in endocrinology, where you have to guide patients through personal decisions, related to reproductive health, for example,” she adds. “A patient once told me ‘Doctor, you are like my priest.’ Having that kind of relationship with a patient is a privilege.”
“Public health has greater impact at the community, national levels. It’s a matter of perspective. Although I miss clinical practice, my work in public health gives me a unique opportunity to have impact at a larger scale, particularly with the Study of Latinos,” Avilés Santa points out.
Read more here.
Explore More:
Healthcare Access, Healthy Families & Schools, Healthy Lifestyles, Latino Cancer, Latino ObesityBy The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
