September 15 to October 15 is traditionally recognized as National Hispanic Heritage Month across the United States. This year, Yale School of Medicine faculty, students, and staff are joining the celebrations by helping to organize several events for the local Latinx community.
In particular, on Tuesday, September 29, and Wednesday, September 30, Yale healthcare professionals and scientists will answer questions from the general public about COVID-19 and the impact it has had on the Latinx community.
The webinar will feature:
Dr. Marietta Vázquez, Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases and Director Yale Children’s Hispanic Clinic at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Vázquez’s research focuses on epidemiological studies of newly-licensed vaccines and how race impacts effectiveness. Most recently, she served as a medical and public health expert on legal proceedings to expedite the release of migrant children being held in detention facilities in response to the rampant coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Arnau Cassanovas-Massana, Senior Scientist at Tangen Biosciences. Until recently, Dr. Cassanovas was an Associate Research Scientist at Yale University in Dr. Albert Ko’s Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases group, where he worked on understanding the genetic epidemiology of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases and developing strategies for their detection.
Dr. Melissa Campbell, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellow at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Campbell undertakes research to understand the biochemical pathways that aid in treating multi-drug resistant bacteria and has most recently been involved in studies of the prevalence of COVID-19 among healthcare workers and improving diagnostic tools for COVID-19.
Panelists will address common questions related to the virus and how people can protect themselves and their families.
The webinar is also meant as a celebration of the contributions of Hispanic doctors, scientists, and healthcare professionals in the face of the pandemic.
Attendance to the webinar is free but registration is required. On September 29 from 6-7pm ET, the event will be held in English (http://bit.ly/COVID19eng), whereas the session on September 30 from 6-7pm ET will be all in Spanish (http://bit.ly/COVID19esp).
In addition, on October 3, Yale students and staff will also participate in “Exploring Science”, an online event where New Haven children and their families will be able to try their hand at fun science demonstrations. The event will feature a brief talk by Dr. Giovanna Guerrero-Medina, Director of the Yale Ciencia Initiative in the Yale School of Medicine Office of Diversity & Inclusion and Executive Director of Ciencia Puerto Rico. The talk will be followed by live experiments organized by Yale Open Labs, a student-led science outreach initiative, and the Yale Chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (YSACNAS). Families who pre-registered will receive a bag with goodies, including all the materials necessary to conduct the experiments, courtesy of the Yale School of Medicine Office of Diversity & Inclusion.
These events are part of a collaboration between the Yale School of Medicine and Arte Inc, a local nonprofit that serves youth and families in the New Haven area. For more information about the Yale events, please contact Dr. Giovanna Guerrero-Medina. To peruse additional events and celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month, please check out Arte Inc’s website.