Illinois Medicine

Achieving National Excellence Narrowing Disparities $3.4 million federal grant will address shortage of Latino health providers T Rockford student Kavin Arasar wins top AMA research award for biochemistry/cell biology R ockford M2 Kavin Arasar was recognized as winner of the biochemistry/ cell biology category at the American Medical Association Research Symposium for her research titled, "Increased â-cell Proliferation and â-cell Mass Induced Through High Fat Diet in Mice." "I've been fascinated with how molecules interact or how signaling works in the body, and metabolism and diabetes, which aside from being incredibly relevant now, is also fascinating to study," Arasar said of her work. "The work of Kavin and the other young physicians and medical students shows us that the future of medicine looks very bright," said AMA President Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD '68. "The research presented at this AMA symposium provides valuable information for current and future physicians. These advances will help them provide the best possible care for patients." More than 600 abstracts were submitted for consideration this year at the symposium, which features competitive categories for members who are residents or fellows, medical students and international medical graduates who are certified and awaiting residency. 6 | Spr i n g 2 013 he college's Hispanic Center of Excellence has received a five-year, $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address disparities in minority health care, which it will use to help reverse the severe shortage of Latino physicians and other health care professionals. "This grant will build programs that help us accomplish our mission to improve medical care for Latinos by increasing opportunities for students to pursue health careers and enrich their education, with the goal of producing linguistically and culturally competent health practitioners," says Jorge Girotti, PhD, director of the center and associate dean for admissions and special curricular programs for the college. Established more than 20 years ago to recruit and support Hispanic medical school faculty and students — and to encourage talented high school and college students to think about careers in the health field — the center will use the grant to bolster the educational pipeline stretching from high school to senior faculty level. The grant will help to expand Medicina Academy, a pilot program at four local high schools that targets promising students and exposes them to medical and health careers, to include the transition from high school to college, Girotti says. The Academia de Padres Leadership Institute will offer Latino parents a one-year curriculum to learn what colleges look for and how the higher education system works in general. "We have even found that some parents were interested in exploring further education themselves — and even possible health careers," Girotti says. The grant also will fund a new summer program to introduce high-school students to health careers, improve study and writing skills, and prepare them for the ACT. The program will target rural Illinois counties that have seen sudden rises in their Hispanic population. "We hope to expand the pipeline beyond the traditional urban populations," Girotti says. Other programming will include a new high school-to-college bridge program in concert with the university's Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services, particularly for students focused on health careers; a summer program of undergraduate research fellowships focused on health disparities; and a new, two-year curriculum on teaching cultural and linguistic competence. Lastly, Girotti says, the grant will help to "create programs for junior faculty that give them the tools they need to be effective academics — better teachers and better researchers, who move into senior faculty positions and, we hope, stay on here." Photo: Mike McCafrey

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