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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.
Valerie Quinones-Avita
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Valerie Quinones-Avita learned a passion for Puerto Rican salsa music and dance from her late father, and she keeps his memory alive by incorporating that passion in her research.
She has a strong desire to improve health services and health systems.
Quinones-Avita, who has an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering and experience with mathematical models, is pursuing her master’s degree in health services research and evaluation from the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Science Campus.
Interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in health system research, Quinones-Avita applied to Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which offers a five-day summer institute and internships to encourage master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.
She called Éxito! a “memorable experience.”
“I had the opportunity of bonding with fellow participants, sharing our interest, goals, fears, and inspirations,” Quinones-Avita said.
Éxito!, a program funded by the National Cancer Institute and directed by 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 in 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. Participants also are eligible to apply for one of several internships. Apply here.
By The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
