Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, a native of Laredo, Texas, and leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 Commencement of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine. Ramirez is an internationally recognized researcher in cancer and chronic disease health disparities among Latinos. At UT Health San Antonio, she is chair and professor of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio, where she also is founding director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research and associate director of community outreach and engagem ..read more

After careful consideration, the Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS) at UT Health San Antonio and UTSA College for Health, Community, and Policy (HCaP) have announced the recipients of new Community Engagement Small Project Grants. Five grantees were chosen to lead projects covering HIV/AIDS, faith’s impact on criminal rehabilitation, artistic influence on young brain development, and more, according to a recent university news release. The grants, for one year and up to $5,000, aim to promote, develop, and expand community and scholarly research partnerships that benefi ..read more

Every year, 240,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s why healthcare providers recommend women ages 50 to 74 get a mammogram – an X-ray of the breast that can help screen and diagnose cancer – every two years.   However, only about 3 in 4 women in that age group has had a mammogram in the past two years, as of 2022, according to a new study by the CDC.  For women who experience health-related social needs, even fewer haven’t gotten one.  This is alarming because, while mammograms can r ..read more

Calling all budding young public health leaders in The Alamo City! UT Health San Antonio is giving teens in the 11th and 12th grades the chance to expand their horizons and learn what it truly means to devote yourself to the public health field by hosting a free summer camp. The camp, which is free to attend and runs from June 17-21, 2024 in San Antonio, opens up the world of public health to students interested in careers like epidemiology, nutrition, researcher, and occupational health and safety. For a week, teens will dive into the 10 Essential Public Health Services, which make up public ..read more

The summer of 2023 was one of the hottest seasons on record for some areas across the US, bringing sweltering temperatures that caused heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Experts see this as a prime example climate change endangering health. While extreme weather events like heat are nothing new, the frequency of these events is cause for concern, especially when it comes to health and well-being. To tackle some of these issues, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new toolkit to help healthcare professionals arm themselves with knowledge about climate change and health. Communicati ..read more

USDA has approved a final rule to improve nutrition and support breastfeeding in food packages in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The final rule includes these changes: Require WIC-eligible whole grain breakfast cereals contain a whole grain as the first ingredient. Increase access to whole grains in breakfast cereal, bread, and grains, including “tortillas made with folic acid-fortified corn masa flour (once available in the marketplace).” Expand whole grain options to include foods like quinoa, blue cornmeal, and teff to reflect dietary gui ..read more

Cancer is often associated with an aging population, but something is changing in the demographics of cancer survivors — they are younger.  There are projected to be 85,980 new cases of cancer in individuals between ages 15 and 39, according to the National Cancer Institute.   Decade trends show that this number has been rising an average of 0.3% each year.  Even though most young adults and teens with cancer are expected to survive for five years following their diagnosis, researchers are trying to understand why young survivors often face long-term health impacts, such as nerv ..read more

Sadly, breast cancer impacts our Latina community. Latinas are more likely than White women to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive type, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Join us for “Making Your Voice Heard in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment,” our 30-minute webinar that is available on-demand starting on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Hear the latest TNBC treatments and how Latinas deal with the difficult cancer journey. A doctor who specializes in treating breast cancer, a nurse practitioner, and a patient with breast cancer will explai ..read more

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking another step forward in its campaign against “forever chemicals,” also known as perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). On April 10, 2024, the EPA announced its final ruling on the first-ever PFAS drinking water standard in the country. The EPA ruled in favor of the legally enforceable standard that limits PFAS, which has been linked to adverse health effects such as impacts to fetal growth and increased cancer risk, in drinking water. The final ruling on the matter comes nearly a year after closing public comment on the i ..read more

Nearly one of every two people are Latino in Harris County, Texas, which is home to Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. As the Latino community rises, equitable health, education, and opportunity is critical. That is why two Houston organizations, Children at Risk and Child Health Policy at the Baker Institute, published the 2024 Latino Child Health Initiative Report to examine the state of Latino child health in Precinct 2, one of four precincts in Harris County. The report identified high rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity among Latino children in Houston, as well as barriers to men ..read more