Diversifying Health Care

The national competition for the American Heart Association’s Hispanic Serving Institutions Scholars Program is always stiff, so Wendy E. 主修分子生物学的大二学生伊斯拉斯差点就没申请.

是伊斯拉斯的母亲告诉她去争取的. “She always tells me, ‘You don’t have anything to lose; don’t count yourself out,’” the sophomore says.

担心以前的学者大多是理科生, Yaire Hernandez, a junior Public Health major, 也很犹豫，在截止日期前几周才申请, 在她的公共卫生教授的催促下, Amanda Birnbaum. “She was very excited, and she thought I was a perfect candidate for it,” Hernandez says. Although prior winners appeared to be “lab-based majors” and Hernandez had no lab experience, 她说她决定“试一试”.”

It was the first time each student had ever applied for a scholarship – and it paid off in a big way.

伊斯拉斯和埃尔南德斯以及其他四名红鹰成员都被提名 2022 AHA HSI Scholars, earning the University the largest number of scholarship winners in its first year of participating in the program. 十大博彩推荐排名大学的6位学者是从全国各地选出的30位学者之一. 除了伊斯拉斯和埃尔南德斯, 他们包括:Kenneth Mosquera-Reinoso, a senior Biochemistry major; Jeffrey Yumbla, a sophomore Biochemistry major; Melissa Spigelman, a junior Molecular Biology major; and Lizet Negrete, a senior Public Health major. 此外，Islas, Mosquera-Reinoso和Yumbla也是 Health Careers Program students.

“这是一个竞争非常激烈的项目. 十大博彩推荐排名加入的时候我很兴奋, 入选的学者都是一流的,” says Mitzi Cardona, AHA’s portfolio advisor – Collegiate Diversity Partnerships – Hispanic Serving Institutions. “所有这些学者都以一种令人惊叹的方式真正代表了十大博彩推荐排名, and it’s such a privilege for us to have them join our program because they’re inspiring other scholars across the nation.”

Spigelman, in particular, has taken a leadership role, 卡多纳说:“当我想到群体中的领导者时, I always think of Melissa.”

The AHA HSI Scholars Program is in its second year. 由Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics®资助, 该项目与洛杉矶的18所拉美裔学院和大学合作, Puerto Rico, Miami, Houston, Chicago, New York and now New Jersey (a William Paterson University student also was named a Scholar). 美国心脏协会还提供其他项目, 包括一个与传统黑人学院和大学合作的人.

“The intent for this program was to develop a pipeline of Latino/Hispanic students in the science fields and in the healthcare workforce,” Cardona says. “我们知道，当他们准备成为未来的医生时, nurses, researchers, 医疗保健管理人员和公共卫生专业人员, 这个项目将帮助他们培养专业技能.”

She and Katia Paz Goldfarb, 负责西班牙裔倡议和国际项目的副教务长, credit Provost and Senior Vice President Junius Gonzales for bringing the AHA opportunity to Montclair. 称之为“完美的伙伴关系”,” Cardona says Gonzales “was totally on board with exposing this opportunity to his students.”

Paz Goldfarb says: “It is always incredible when you can bring another wonderful and paid resource to our students. 在我们的第一年，我们是最多的代表，有六位西班牙裔学者. 这是十大博彩推荐排名州立大学的另一种方法, the largest HSI in New Jersey, 在国家层面得到认可吗.”

该项目为学生提供一学年的科研经验, professional mentoring, 领导技巧工作坊及文化能力训练, Cardona says. Each student receives a $7,000 scholarship and an all-expenses paid trip to the Association’s annual conference in Chicago next month, where they will participate in scientific sessions and network with top physicians and researchers from across the country. In the spring, the scholars will present their research findings at a research symposium on the Montclair campus, 来自美国心脏协会各种奖学金项目的100多名学生将齐聚一堂. The students also will receive a medallion during a ceremony celebrating their achievements.

除了十大博彩推荐排名“令人惊叹的校园”,” Cardona says she selected the University as the location for this year’s research symposium because the “team at Montclair are just incredible partners; the genuine sincerity of helping their students blew me away, 我希望我们所有的学者都能感受到并体验到这一点. 超越了他们在课堂上学到的知识, there’s something to say about powerful connections and networking – and that’s key to their success.”

Scholars’ projects

每个学生都被指派一名导师来监督他们的研究项目. 莫斯克拉-雷诺索的研究包括研究细胞色素P450酶, which metabolizes drugs, such as antibiotics, 以及其他进入人体的化合物.

“We are trying to understand more about the chemistry and the interaction between the substrate and the enzyme,” he explains, “and more specifically, 我把蛋白质结晶，然后得到它的晶体图.”  He says he’s excited about continuing his research during his final year at Montclair; his mentor is Chemistry and Biochemistry Associate Professor Jaclyn Catalano.

除了他的学习和研究项目, Mosquera-Reinoso is involved in the Health Careers Program and serves as president of the Medical Community Assistance Club, the pre-med club on campus. In his role as president, he invites physicians, Montclair alumni and medical school admissions staff to serve on panels and speak to students. He also holds down two jobs, as a building manager at the Student Center and as a medical scribe at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck.

Mosquera-Reinoso hopes to attend medical school and while he has an interest in oncology, 他还没有决定专业. 尽管他之前获得过奖学金, 他说他可能会用AHA HSI奖来帮助支付他的继续教育费用.

The Biochemistry major, 谁是厄瓜多尔人，在美国只待了5年, 他说他没有去过很多地方，很想参加美国心脏协会的会议. “我很兴奋能去芝加哥，”他笑着说. “它离我足够远，我可以飞.”

埃尔南德斯也对前往风城感到兴奋. For her project, 她正在进行以社区为基础的研究, 她在申请奖学金的论文里写了一些东西. She is studying the shopping habits of minority shoppers when given the opportunity to shop at grocery stores that carry organic produce and other products versus their local grocers. 顾客将获得购物卡. 她的项目导师是公共卫生教授斯蒂芬妮·西尔维拉.

“There’re a lot of factors and social determinants of health that we study in Public Health,” Hernandez says. “你吃的东西在很多方面决定了你的健康.”

埃尔南德斯说，她希望毕业后为非营利组织工作. “我真的只想回馈社区,” she says, 补充说，作为一个在莫里斯敦长大的孩子, New Jersey, 她利用了各种青年项目. 因此，她想要创建有利于幼儿的项目.

她说，她将把她的奖学金再投资到她的教育中.

“我真的很感激这次机会, 我对这个奖学金感到非常兴奋，也很想看到它带来的机会,” Hernandez says.

Islas, who is Mexican American, says she was shocked to learn that she’d been named an HSI Scholar. “我妈妈真的为我感到骄傲，”她谈到自己最大的支持者时说. “这种感觉真的很棒.”

The sophomore is joining fellow HSI Scholar Melissa Spigelman on her project working with zebrafish under the guidance of Biology Professor Carlos Molina. “We will be breeding transgenic zebrafish to create another generation in which we will measure any changes in their ovulation,” she says.

Islas says during her freshman year working in a lab, she found she has a passion for research. “我喜欢使用微移液器和玻璃器皿, 记录数据，得出结论,” she says. “So, when this program connected me with a researcher and a mentor, it was a perfect fit.”

Molina, 谁一直在监督斯皮格尔曼的研究, says he’s happy Islas has joined his lab and hopes she’ll stay to continue working on the project, 用鱼作为模型来研究雌性和雄性的繁殖.

Aside from her goal of being a health professional, Islas says she’s interested in cancer research.

“This is a field that I never really thought I would get into but I’m so grateful that I am because I’m learning new things that I can apply in my classes later on when I go into more advanced courses,” she says. “这是一个很好的机会.”

她渴望参加美国心脏协会的会议. “I’ve never been to Chicago. I’m so excited. 我得到了一个靠窗的座位，我很高兴.”

Story by Staff Writer Sylvia A. Martinez. 图片由大学摄影师提供 Mike Peters.