Purpose
Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the top Latino killer, making it critical to develop the next generation of researchers who can tackle and solve Latino cancer issues.But few Latinos seek doctoral degrees and study biomedical and behavioral science.
Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, launched in 2010 by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio thanks to a grant from the National Cancer Institute, offers an annual summer institute to increase the number of master’s-degree-level Latinos who pursue a doctoral degree and a career in Latino health disparities and cancer control research.
Summer Institute
An annual 5-day Summer Institute, “Careers in Latino Cancer Health Disparities Research,” discusses research strategies and Latino cancer health disparities, and provides inspiration and tools to apply to a doctoral program. See a sample Summer Institute agenda.
The Summer Institute aim to enhance participants’:
- Understanding of the power of research to affect change.
- Awareness of current research methods, theories, and interventions to reduce Latino cancer health disparities.
- Interest in cancer control research, from surveillance to epidemiology, individual behavior change, health services, and policy research.
- Skills in research, networking, and motivation to successfully apply to a doctoral program
Eligibility
Minority Latino/Hispanic student (defined as being from an underrepresented community that experiences an excess or unknown burden in the field of health disparities and cancer control research) in a master’s-level health program (with a minimum completion of that program’s first semester by June 2017) or a master’s-trained health professional.
Current doctoral students or those accepted into doctoral programs are not eligible.
Other criteria include:
- Good academic standing (minimum “B” average).
- Strong verbal, written, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
Internships
- Paid Internships
- Ten internships are available to individuals accepted into the Éxito! program and who attend the Summer Institute.
- In order to receive an internship individual must complete the Éxito! online application which includes the submission of an internship work plan.
Eligibility
To be eligible for an Éxito! Internship you must:
- Apply for and be accepted to attend the Summer Institute.
- Be an alumnus of the Éxito! program.
Individuals are ineligible if:
- They have completed or are currently enrolled in a doctoral program.
- They have already been accepted into a doctoral program.
Funding
Éxito! is funded from 2015-2021 (and previously from 2010-2015) by a National Cancer Institute grant.
The program is directed by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio with support from the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at UT Health San Antonio, Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Research Network, and the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
For more info, email us at exito@uthscsa.edu.
