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At the reception honoring Martha Medrano, M.D., M.P.H., were (left to right ) Martha Baez, R.D.H., M.P.H.; Sophie Pena, Ph.D.; Norma Partida, D.D.S.; Rebecca Loredo, M.D.; Dr. Medrano; Adelita Cantu, R.N., Ph.D.; and Magda De La Torre, R.D.H., M.P.H.
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SAN ANTONIO — Martha Medrano, M.D., M.P.H., entered into the Parman Auditorium Foyer to the festive tunes of mariachis — a lively and beautiful way to launch a celebration of her being honored as one of the nation’s 100 Most Influential Hispanics.

Dr. Medrano wears many hats at the UT Health Science Center including professor of psychiatry, pediatrics, family and community medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology, and associate dean of continuing medical education in the School of Medicine. Late last year, she was named to the Most Influential list by Hispanic Business magazine.

The well-attended reception in her honor in March included comments from Health Science Center President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.; Sen. Leticia Van de Putte; William L. Henrich, M.D., M.A.C.P., dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs; and Fernando Guerra, M.D., M.P.H., director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.

“I am so very proud of you,” President Cigarroa said. “There is no doubt you are one of the most influential Hispanic women in the world.”

He noted that Dr. Medrano is dedicated to the mentoring of students, to the propagation of South Texas programs and to enhancing representation of minorities in the health care professions.

Pedro L. Delgado, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, Dielmann Chair and associate dean for professionalism and faculty development, said Dr. Medrano’s name was mentioned to him in Hispanic medical circles even before he joined the Health Science Center. “She has played an enormous number of roles here and is one of those people who are raising the bar in whatever they do,” he said.

In 1999 Dr. Medrano was appointed director of the Medical Hispanic Center of Excellence at the Health Science Center. This center has offered programs to, among other things, help Hispanic medical students matriculate through the School of Medicine.

Dr. Henrich presented flowers to Dr. Medrano and expressed gratitude for her outstanding service to the School of Medicine.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million and 5,000 faculty and staff, the UT Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The UT Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 23,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields. For more information, visit www.uthscsa.edu.