When Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez established the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio in October 2006, her core vision was clear: to create an academic incubator dedicated to cultivating innovative health research, advancing population health, and training the next generation of diverse public health leaders. Two decades later, that foundational vision has blossomed into a legacy of groundbreaking scientific discovery, community-engaged interventions, and professional excellence.
As the IHPR marks its 20th anniversary, the institution is pausing to celebrate the remarkable trajectories of its past faculty, researchers, and staff members. Over the last twenty years, individuals who once walked the halls of the IHPR have gone on to lead major research institutes, direct federal health programs, shape public policy, and pioneer community health worker models across the nation. Their collective journeys offer a powerful testament to the enduring impact of the institute’s commitment to disease prevention and health equity, particularly among underserved and minority populations.
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina: From Cancer Researcher to Research Leader
Among the many distinguished alumni of the institute is Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, who served as a professor at the IHPR at UT Health San Antonio from 2008 to 2016. During her tenure in San Antonio, Dr. Parra-Medina spearheaded several rigorous, theory-based, and culturally competent research initiatives. Her work focused heavily on increasing the uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and encouraging sustainable, healthy habits among families throughout South Texas.
Following her impactful years at the IHPR, Dr. Parra-Medina expanded her national footprint by launching the Latino Cancer Research Institute at UT Austin, where she served as director and professor from 2016 to 2024. Continuing her dedication to academic and clinical leadership, she transitioned to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. For the past two years, she has served as executive director and professor within the health center in the Department of Family Medicine at the School of Medicine.
With more than two decades of dedicated experience in disease prevention among underserved groups, Dr. Parra-Medina remains deeply committed to paying her knowledge forward through mentorship. Reflecting on her career in public health, she has emphasized the profound hope she finds in seeing a growing number of women bring diverse perspectives to complex public health challenges while actively guiding future leaders.
Dr. Cynthia Mojica: Taking a Closer Look at Colon Cancer Screening
The institute’s legacy of rigorous cancer prevention research is similarly embodied by Dr. Cynthia Mojica, who served as an assistant professor in research at the IHPR from 2009 to 2015. While at UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Mojica led critical research projects, including the development of a tailored, language-relevant, print-based tool specifically designed to persuade men to undergo life-saving colorectal cancer screenings.
Dr. Mojica subsequently brought her expertise to Oregon State University, serving as an associate professor of health promotion and health behavior in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences. In this role, she has continued to lead vital health services research and program evaluation centered on cancer prevention and control within ethnic minority and underserved communities, with a particular emphasis on Latino populations.
Her collaborative approach routinely engages community-based organizations, local health centers, and community members in every phase of intervention design, implementation, and evaluation. Demonstrating the ongoing relevance of her scholarship, Dr. Mojica published new research focused on improving crucial follow-up care after patients receive abnormal colorectal cancer screening results.
Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos: Improving Health Behaviors in Our Population
Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos is another prominent figure whose career was shaped during her time as a research instructor at the IHPR from 2009 to 2016. Working closely alongside Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, Dr. Morales-Campos studied and implemented culturally competent strategies to increase HPV vaccination rates and prevent cervical cancer across South Texas communities.
After her foundational years at the institute, Dr. Morales-Campos served as a research assistant professor and area director of training programs at UT Austin from 2016 to 2024. Today, she brings her extensive expertise to UTHealth Houston as an associate professor, focusing her research on public health education, cancer prevention, and the long-term maintenance of positive health behaviors among Hispanic populations. Her career is distinguished by her proficiency in designing and executing community-based participatory research, culturally appropriate methodologies, and interventions utilizing the proven promotora community health worker model.
Sandra San Miguel: Helping Cancer Survivors from Research to Leadership
As an original faculty member of the IHPR from its inception in 2006 until 2016, Dr. Sandra San Miguel played a pivotal role in shaping the institute’s community outreach framework. During her decade at UT Health San Antonio, Dr. San Miguel helped develop essential patient navigation and community health worker programs designed to provide comprehensive support for cancer survivors. Notably, she co-founded Breast Friends Forever, a dedicated support group created to uplift young breast cancer survivors and provide a safe space for them to share their experiences in San Antonio.
For the past ten years, Dr. San Miguel has brought her vast experience to the federal level as a program director at the National Cancer Institute. In this capacity, she has contributed significantly to national initiatives such as the Screen to Save program and broader efforts aimed at advancing cancer health equity and increasing clinical trial participation. In addition to her federal leadership, she serves as an advisor for the National Hispanic Medical Association’s Hispanic Leadership Development Fellowship.
Amanda Merck: From Covering Transportation to Becoming an Urban Planner
The impact of the IHPR and its public health communications initiatives, including the Salud America! program, extends well beyond traditional clinical research into the realm of environmental and policy advocacy. From 2015 to 2024, Amanda Merck served as a digital content curator for Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, where she covered critical non-medical drivers of health, including transportation systems, city planning, green spaces, physical activity, and childhood trauma.
Beyond writing about systemic change, Merck actively participated in it. She advocated for policy improvements in San Antonio, coordinated a regional fairness-in-transportation work group, and led national efforts to generate public comments on federal traffic crash reporting, vehicle safety ratings, neighborhood planning policies, and the integration of urban planners into health policy development. Furthermore, she helped create the Salud America! Health Equity Report Card, an innovative tool designed to auto-generate local data, maps, and gauges to help communities visualize and explore public health disparities.
Today, Merck is pursuing a doctoral degree in urban planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she continues her deep exploration of transportation as a critical non-medical driver of health, examining the broader social, economic, and health consequences of inadequate transit infrastructure.
Shannon Baldwin: From Public Health to Legal Advocate
Shannon Baldwin also contributed to the digital storytelling and public engagement efforts of the Salud America! program and the IHPR from 2012 to 2015. In her role as a digital content curator, Baldwin crafted dynamic and engaging "Salud Hero" narratives that highlighted grassroots changemakers addressing health disparities across the United States, from school garden initiatives in El Paso to fresh food access programs in Virginia and sugary drink tax campaigns in California.
Following her tenure at the IHPR, Baldwin pursued a legal education, earning her law degree from the South Texas College of Law Houston in 2018 to complement her undergraduate degree in political science from Trinity University. Today, she advocates for individuals and corporate clients as a legal associate at Bracewell LLP. Her professional excellence was formally recognized when she was named in the 2016 edition of the Legal 500 United States, an authoritative ranking of the nation’s premier law firms and attorneys.
Rosalie Aguilar: From Health Communicator to Researcher to Dental Surgeon
Rosalie Aguilar’s multifaceted journey within the IHPR began when she joined as a digital content curator for Salud America! from 2012 to 2015, before stepping into the role of program coordinator from 2015 to 2021. As coordinator, Aguilar managed programmatic development, cultivated relationships with network members, monitored operational benchmarks, and contributed significantly to research proposals, reports, and scientific manuscripts. Among her notable academic contributions, she helped lead a published study demonstrating that planned, culturally relevant social media events can serve as powerful tools for public health practitioners to engage audiences around health equity issues.
While working at the institute, Aguilar pursued advanced academic training, earning a doctoral degree in translational sciences from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio in 2020. She subsequently served as a project coordinator for a holistic oral health program for nursing home residents through the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry and co-directed the Dental Education Network for Texas, which assists primary oral health providers in delivering quality dental care across the state. Currently, she is advancing her clinical expertise as a doctoral candidate in dental surgery at UT Health San Antonio.
Rick Carrillo: Bringing Salud Heroes to Life Through Video
For seven years, from 2012 to 2019, Rick Carrillo served as the video production manager for Salud America! and the IHPR, traveling extensively across Texas, Colorado, and Florida to document the inspiring stories of community role models. Through the Salud Hero video series, Carrillo captured grassroots efforts to expand public transit access, establish baby cafes, build community gardens, and implement trauma-informed practices in schools, providing viewers with powerful visual models for local advocacy.
Carrillo also played a foundational role in creating the Salud America! Salud Talks podcast, an active platform dedicated to informing listeners about health trends and issues impacting the Latino community. Today, Carrillo applies his creative leadership as the group leader for creative services at the Southwest Research Institute, where he directs a multidisciplinary team of video, photography, and graphic design professionals to deliver compelling visual narratives for diverse clients.
Guadalupe Cornejo: Training the Next Generation of Community Health Workers
Guadalupe Cornejo’s career reflects the vital, irreplaceable role of community health workers—or promotoras de salud—in bridging the gap between vulnerable populations and the formal healthcare system. From 2009 to 2011, Cornejo served as a community health worker at the IHPR, where she used her shared language and cultural background to guide San Antonio cancer patients through their medical journeys and connect them with essential local resources.
After earning her master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Cornejo expanded her community impact in higher education. Today, she serves as an associate dean at Northwest Vista College within the Alamo Colleges District, where she trains, mentors, and empowers the next generation of community health workers and promotoras. She is also the founder of the San Antonio Community Health Workers Association, cementing her lifelong dedication to grassroots health promotion.
As the Institute for Health Promotion Research looks toward the future, current faculty, researchers, and staff—guided by Director Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez alongside Dr. Patricia Chalela, Dr. Rebecca Jones, Dr. Derek Rodriguez, and a dedicated team of research assistants, coordinators, communicators, and community health workers—continue to build upon this rich foundation of scientific inquiry, community engagement, and leadership development.
