Press
NMSU Health Sciences Seminar Series kicks off Feb. 24
February 04, 2021
New Mexico State University’s College of Health and Social Services is launching its new Health Sciences Seminar Series this month, bringing leading experts in the field to share innovative research and emerging information with the campus and community.
The first lecture in the series, “Assessing Diet in Our Complex Food System,” will be presented by Marian Neuhouser, the program head of the Cancer Prevention Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24 via Zoom.
Neuhouser, a nutritional epidemiologist, will explore challenges and approaches to studying nutrition and well-being due to limitations in food and nutrient databases, assessment of self-reported diet, and the varied economic, cultural, social and behavioral predictors of food intake.
The seminar series is also sponsored by the Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research (PACR), a National Cancer Institute-funded partnership between NMSU and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and NMSU’s Southwest Institute for Health Disparities Research (SWIHDR).
Read the rest of the article here.
Essential student research training goes virtual amid COVID-19 pandemic
August 11, 2020
At the end of each Spring Semester, students across the country start gearing up for summer research internships and experiences at institutions across the nation. But for many of these students, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of these valuable summer programs.
In an effort to continue student research training while many universities have closed their doors, a group of professors and scientists from New Mexico State University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center joined forces to create a new virtual training program for graduate students, the Public Health and Cancer Research Workshop (PHCRW).
Over the course of eight days in late June and early July, eight graduate students from NMSU and the University of Washington (UW) got a crash course in basic research skills and professional development.
Read the rest of the article here.
NMSU researchers recruiting clinical trial participants by telephone
July 23, 2020
A team of researchers at New Mexico State University is calling households in the border region to identify and invite eligible Hispanic mothers to participate in a cancer education study.
The “Taking Time to Connect” study, led by NMSU associate professor Rebecca Palacios, tests which of two parenting education programs is most effective in helping Hispanic mothers and their children to cope with cancer. The study will also assess how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting Hispanic mothers diagnosed with cancer and their families.
Read the rest of the article here.
NMSU Cancer Outreach Core hosts informational events
February 5, 2020
New Mexico State University Cancer Outreach Core hosted a tabling event Jan. 28 for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month to provide students with resources and general knowledge of the preventable cancer.
According to Cancer Outreach Program Specialist Isela Garcia, the tabling event, referred to as Turquoise Tuesday, was a trivia game with general knowledge questions about the cancer. The event was used to provide students with information about the ailment, ways to prevent the cancer and when to get tested.
To read the rest of the article here.
NMSU students hone research skills in internships at national cancer research center
September 30, 2019
Nine students from New Mexico State University traveled to Seattle this summer to join the research labs of award-winning scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The nine-week paid internship program is supported in part by the Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research, a federally funded partnership between NMSU and Fred Hutch. The partnership, which began in 2002, received a $12 million, five-year renewal in 2018 from the National Cancer Institute to continue its efforts to advance cancer research among underrepresented scientists.
The NMSU students, six undergraduates and three graduates, were part of a cohort of 34 students from around the nation to participate in the nine-week internship program and be placed in the labs of Fred Hutch scientists.
Read the rest of the article here.
Students learn of health disparities in remote communities, many in New Mexico
August 18, 2019
This summer was the first annual Health Disparities Field Experience sponsored by the Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research, a federally funded partnership between NMSU and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The partnership, which began in 2002, received a $5.8 million grant renewal earlier this year from the National Cancer Institute to continue its efforts to bridge cancer health disparities in underserved communities.
The students taking part in the program started in Las Cruces and traveled to nearly a dozen different communities mostly in New Mexico, but also in Arizona and west Texas. New Mexico visits included Chaparral, Vado, Anapra, Sunland Park, Grants, Farmington, Shiprock and Anthony. The Texas side of Anthony was also included along with San Elizario, which is east of El Paso. In Arizona, students joined health representatives in Window Rock.
In addition to shadowing community health representatives, students also toured local clinics and shelters, visited community centers, attended health trainings at the New Mexico Department of Health, engaged with public health professionals and medical providers, and spent time with community members as they shared their personal experiences of the differences in the quality of health and healthcare in their area.
Read the rest of the article here.
NMSU and University of Washington students learn community health first-hand in rural NM
August 16, 2019
Riding in the passenger seat of a pickup truck, Shoko Espinoza braced as the truck hit another pothole and she knocked her head against the window. They were not traveling far, only about a mile, but on the unpaved roads of Sawmill, Arizona, even that short trip can take a toll.
Espinoza was shadowing Patriva Benally, a community health representative in the Navajo Nation, as she traveled to more remote parts of the reservation to meet with individuals in their home, take vital signs and offer healthcare assistance.
Espinoza, a nursing student at the University of Washington in Seattle, was one of seven students from UW and New Mexico State University to shadow Navajo community health representatives as part of the Health Disparities Field Experience (HDFE) - an immersive two-week exploration of health in communities in the U.S. Southwest.
Read the rest of the article here.
NMSU to launch clinical trial on cancer education program for Hispanic mothers
March 30, 2019
A research team at New Mexico State University will launch one of the university’s first clinical trials this year to evaluate the effectiveness of a cancer-parenting education program adapted for Hispanic mothers recently diagnosed with early-stage cancer who have children between the ages of 5 and 17.
The clinical trial for the NMSU-based program, called Conexiones, runs through 2021 and will include participants from Doña Ana County and El Paso County, said Rebecca Palacios, associate professor in the College of Health and Social Services’ Department of Public Health Sciences at NMSU. Palacios is the principal investigator overseeing the program and the clinical trial.
Read the rest of the article here.
Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
March 8, 2019
New Mexico State University’s Cancer Outreach program partnered with the 49th Medical Group during colorectal cancer awareness month, March 7, 2019, in the medical clinic here.
NMSU’s Cancer Outreach brought a giant blow-up colon to offer everyone a visual representation of what polyps and lesions look like in a healthy colon and when cancer is present.
“As a little kid, I always had a deep admiration for the military,” said Juan C. Padilla, NMSU Cancer Outreach student. “Getting to work with and help military members improve their health by encouraging them to get screened is very rewarding for me.”
Read the rest of the article here.
NMSU grant renewal expands on 16 years of advancement in cancer research
January 3, 2019
New Mexico State University's Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research (PACR) received a $5.8 million grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute to continue its efforts to bridge cancer health disparities in underserved communities. The collaboration between NMSU and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (commonly known as "Fred Hutch" or "The Hutch") has received more than $30 million in grants, shared equally since 2002.Together, the partnership is diversifying the community of scientists underrepresented in cancer, cancer health and biomedical research by supporting programs for students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty.
Read the rest of the article here.
NMSU Cancer Outreach hosts first Boxer March: A Screen to Save event
March 16, 2018
The community is invited to attend Doña Ana County's first Boxer March, a Screen to Save Initiative to increase colorectal cancer awareness and provide free colorectal cancer screening next week.
The event, promoted in Spanish as the "Marcha de los Chones" and hosted by New Mexico State University Cancer Outreach Program, will take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. March 24 at the Plaza de Mesilla, located at the corner of Calle Principal and Calle de Santiago in Old Mesilla. The event features a fun march around the plaza, where marchers will be led through a giant inflatable colon. Attendees are encouraged to march around the Plaza de Mesilla in their funniest boxer shorts and learn more about colorectal cancer, diabetes and other chronic illnesses; hear testimonials from colorectal cancer survivors; and participate in free blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings.
Read the rest of the article here.
Participants needed for NMSU-based program for Hispanic mothers with cancer
February 27, 2018
Conexiones, a cancer education program based at New Mexico State University, is looking for Hispanic mothers recently diagnosed with cancer to participate in a study that will help evaluate the program's effectiveness.
The program, originally called Enhancing Connections, was developed by Frances Marcus Lewis of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The program teaches diagnosed mothers self-care skills and parenting and communication skills to assist their children in coping with their mother's cancer, and has been found to help reduce anxiety and depression in both mothers diagnosed with cancer and their children.Read the rest of the article here.