NM CARES Health Disparities Center Makes Impact on Intern

Este­fany Frias spent the sum­mer research­ing at New Mex­ico Cen­ter for Advance­ment of Research, Engage­ment and Sci­ence (CARES) on Health Dis­par­i­ties, whose mis­sion is to advance sci­en­tific knowl­edge about inter­ven­tions and solu­tions to health dis­par­i­ties in our state. The facil­ity is located on north cam­pus in the UNM Health Sci­ences Center.

Frias’ men­tor and direc­tor, Robert Williams, was ranked first in fund­ing among fam­ily med­i­cine researchers by the National Insti­tutes of Health (NIH). Through his men­tor­ship and that of Christina Get­rich, post­doc­toral research fel­low, Frias assisted in com­pil­ing research data on two stud­ies: post-partum depres­sion and cer­vi­cal can­cer screenings. 

While at UNM, Frias learned about the Under­grad­u­ate Pipeline Net­work (UPN), a pro­gram that cul­ti­vates stu­dent inter­est in research while help­ing them attain skills needed to apply for and suc­ceed in post-baccalaureate edu­ca­tion. Frias grad­u­ates from Syra­cuse Uni­ver­sity in 2013 with a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence degree in pub­lic health.

“I knew I wanted to do some­thing dif­fer­ent and inter­est­ing this sum­mer,” Frias said, “so I ran a Google search for stu­dent pub­lic health pro­grams and UNM popped up. There are three types of pro­grams: sci­ence, clin­i­cal and community-based pub­lic health, and that’s what I wanted, pub­lic health.”

UPN taught Frias how to cre­ate a sur­vey, proof­read large doc­u­ments and trans­late screen­ing ques­tions into Span­ish for use in com­mu­ni­ties. On more than one occa­sion, she called on her father to help trans­late a word or two into Span­ish. He fre­quently reminded her how proud he was of the way she was spend­ing her summer.

Frias emi­grated to the U.S. from the Domini­can Repub­lic when she was a year old because her father wanted a bet­ter life for his fam­ily. They set­tled in Brook­lyn, N.Y. where she made goals for her­self early in life, such as attend­ing med­ical school and becom­ing a sur­geon who helps chil­dren with clef palate.

“I still have a lot to learn about New Mex­ico and under­stand­ing all the cul­tural aspects that make up the state,” Frias said. “But I see that peo­ple here work together, and have a strong sense of community.”

For more infor­ma­tion about NM CARES Health Dis­par­i­ties Cen­ter, the Speaker Series, Research Resources and UPN, con­tact Miria Kano at mkano@salud.unm.edu or (505) 272‑3876.

Story by Nora Chavez