Alberto Martin: Making the Most of Every Opportunity for Latino Health



As a child in Puerto Rico, Alberto Martin dreamed of playing professional soccer.  He knew that becoming a soccer pro meant lots of hard work, practice, and willpower to get better even when you’re tired and want to give up.  Today, Martin is using those lessons to become a different kind of pro – a doctor.  Martin is a second-year medical student at the Universidad Central del Caribe in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and an intern at UT Health San Antonio’s Institute for Health Promotion Research.   He is motivated to share his story to demonstrate how following your dream – on the soccer field or the doctor’s office – can be reality.  “Stories and information you get, they just become such a powerful source of drive or inspiration. Because you want to see you, ...

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The Guardian Interviews Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos



Recent data shows Latinos and communities under the U.S. poverty line are more aware of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and rates of the vaccine in these communities are higher than in more affluent ones, The Guardian reports. For the article The Guardian interviewed Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos, a research instructor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research, the team behind SaludToday. Dr. Campos directs Entre Familia, an HPV campaign aimed at Latinos in south Texas. According to Campos, there are still a lot of barriers to access. “People there often do not have the transportation needed to easily travel to a clinic, especially three times, and that many people rely on nurse clinics, which usually close before the school day ends. Sometimes, clinics do not have the ...

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Monica Montaño: An Èxito! Grad Who Has A Passion for Teaching and Helping Others



Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2015 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for 2016. Monica Montaño Downey, Calif. With a Panamanian hat-wearing grandfather who pushed his children to go to college and a mom who took her to microbiology classes as a child, it’s no surprise that education is Monica's main tool to promote health among Latinos. She has a true passion for teaching and not only wants to expose her students to health disparities, but also wants to conduct research and deliver education on cancer and disease prevention across the nation and beyond.  Monica Montaño received her Bachelor of Science degrees in Community Health Education and School Health Education (2000),  from California State University ...

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Latino Prostate Cancer Survivors Connect, Bond Thanks to Navigator Project



Brotherhood is a term for a close-knit system of support and friendship among men. In Spanish, this is known as hermandad. For three Latino men fighting to survive prostate cancer, hermandad was a unifying force that helped them through the most difficult challenge of their lives—and it wouldn’t have been possible without the innovative patient navigation project from Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Research Network, which is funded by the National Cancer Institute and headquartered at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Guadalupe Ortiz Valadez, age 61. Roman Mejia Hernandez, age 57. Francisco Lopez, age 58. Each man has a different life story, background, and struggle with cancer. But their differences ...

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