Rosalie Aguilar has been named the 2019 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Presidential Ambassador.

Rosalie is a South Texas native and graduate of Texas A&M International University in Laredo, TX. Growing up along the Texas and Mexico border she dreamt of finding a way to improve the health of underserved communities in South Texas. This ultimately led her to pursue a master’s degree in Health and Kinesiology from UTSA and a graduate certificate in public health from the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

While completing her master’s studies Rosalie participated in research conducted in community centers, churches and Head Start centers located on the westside of San Antonio. It was during that time that she was selected to participate in the Exito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Program, a unique training program led by Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Institute For Health Promotion Research, and funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Her participation in this program led to her pursuit of a Ph.D. in Translational Science. Her mentor is Dr. Amelie Ramirez, the director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research. Rosalie’s research is focused on reducing disparities in Latino childhood obesity and promoting health advocacy among Latino populations. She accomplishes this by leveraging health promotion methods rooted in social cognitive theory, with the use of social media platforms and programming techniques for collecting and disseminating health messages.

“Rosalie is a very inspiring young woman and I look forward to her becoming a leading social determinants and health equity researcher.  She is already an extremely valuable member of our Salud America! Research team,” Dr. Ramirez said.

Rosalie has presented her work at numerous academic conferences and has been invited to lead discussions on health policy at meetings such as the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting, the Southern Obesity Summit, the Society for Behavioral Medicine, and the UnidosUS annual meeting.

Additionally, Rosalie has served as a spokesperson for local and national media outlets including Texas Public Radio, KSAT, Telemundo, and NBC Latino. She has given keynote speeches, served on town hall panels, and recorded public service announcements. To date, Rosalie and her colleagues have published four papers and co-authored 28 abstracts. She is committed to inspiring young women to pursue careers in STEM.

“Rosalie’s passion for the biomedical sciences, health promotion research, entrepreneurship, and translational science is apparent by her ongoing interest in acquiring further training in each of these areas. I recently had the pleasure of attending Rosalie’s dissertation proposal defense where she outlined her plans to conduct innovative research that utilizes novel and advanced data science techniques to gain insight into ways for improving targeted outreach, health communication, and health advocacy. Rosalie captivated the audience with her mastery of the subject, innovative approach, and clear enthusiasm for her research and the people it serves. She truly excels when it comes to oral presentations and media appearances. We are so proud of her and know she will be an excellent Ambassador for the university,” said Dr. Christopher Frei, program director of the Translational Science Ph.D. program.

Photos From Ceremony 

This article was written by Charlotte Anthony, marketing specialist at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio.