Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., is serving on a national advisory committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and was elected a director-at-large to the American Society of Preventive Oncology.
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Contact: Sheila Hotchkin, 210-567-3026

SAN ANTONIO (August 11, 2011) – Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, has accepted a pair of national leadership roles that will further her efforts to study cancer and improve the health of residents in South Texas and beyond.

Dr. Ramirez joined the national advisory committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Healthy & Society Scholars Program, effective July 1.

She also was elected director-at-large by members of the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO), which advocates for cancer prevention and control research.

“I’m very excited to take on these new positions because it will allow me to further my goal to increase not only the health of disadvantaged populations, but also to increase the pipeline of doctors and researchers dedicated to helping those populations,” said Dr. Ramirez, who also is associate director of health disparities and holds the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Endowed Chair in Cancer Healthcare Disparities and Outreach at the Health Science Center’s Cancer Therapy & Research Center.

Robert Wood Johnson appointment
The RWJF scholars program aims to build the nation’s capacity for research, leadership and policy change to address the multiple determinants of population health. It makes it possible for up to 12 people who have completed their doctoral training to engage in an intensive two-year program at one of six prominent universities.

As part of her involvement, Dr. Ramirez will help the program review and select finalists for its annual scholar awards after the Sept. 30 application deadline.

APSO fellowship responsibilities
For ASPO, Dr. Ramirez is on the 2012 ASPO Program Committee for the organization’s 36th Annual Meeting March 3-6, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Ramirez has directed many research programs focused on human and organizational communication to reduce chronic disease and cancer health disparities affecting Latinos, including cancer risk factors, clinical trial recruitment, tobacco prevention, obesity prevention and more. She has received many awards for her work to reduce cancer disparities, including 2007 election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled $228 million in fiscal year 2010. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $744 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.

The Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio investigates the causes and solutions to the unequal impact of cancer and chronic disease among certain populations, including Latinos, in San Antonio, South Texas and the nation. The IHPR, founded in 2006, uses evidence-guided research, training and community outreach to improve the health of those at a disadvantage due to race/ethnicity or social determinants, such as education or income. Visit the IHPR online at http://ihpr.uthscsa.edu or follow its blog at http://www.saludtoday.com/blog.