Contact: Cliff Despres, (210) 562-6517
SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 6, 2012) – Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H., director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, has been elected to the board of directors for C-Change, a national organization that aims to leverage the expertise of leaders from government, business and nonprofit sectors of society to eliminate cancer as a major health problem as soon as possible.
Founded in 1998, C-Change approaches cancer as a societal burden that everyone bears responsibility for addressing.
C-Change’s 150 members identify opportunities for collective action and apply the group’s particular strength – the collective expertise and resources of leaders from across sectors – to accelerate action to end cancer.
The group’s 22-member board of directors is elected to staggered three-year terms by a vote of the entire C-Change membership, including former President George H.W. Bush, cyclist Lance Armstrong, TV personalities Larry King and Paula Zahn, former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins and more.
Dr. Ramirez’s three-year term began Jan. 1, 2012.
“I am honored by this tremendous distinction from some of the key leaders in our nation’s fight against cancer,” she said. “I’m excited to be able to bring to the group my focus on the health and quality of life of disadvantaged populations, especially underserved Latinos.”
Dr. Ramirez 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. She is on boards of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women.
She has directed many research programs focused on human and organizational communication to reduce Latino cancer health disparities in cancer risk factors, clinical trial accrual and healthy lifestyles. Her projects have led to unique health communication models and interventions that have contributed to reduced Latino cancer rates and increased cancer screening among Latinos.
See a list of all C-Change board members here and overall members here.
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.