Late post, but last Saturday was the 4th session of SALUD! We started off with a presentation by Julian Xie trom Root Causes that explored obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke as a consequence of food insecurity/access/availability. We then went to the lab rooms to dive into the anatomy and physiology of the heart. We also had another incredible lunch panel with Tony Fuller, Monica Alvarez, Ricky Anjorin, and Fred Heller where students heard stories of struggle and success from accomplished and compassionate individuals. Finally, our students were challenged to come up with interventions to address the “root causes” (pun intended) of these diseases in underserved communities. It’s inspiring to see their critical thinking skills already improving as they think about these issues from a broad perspective. Complex problems require complex solutions and I feel so fortunate to see their brains working hard processing the magnitude of systemic health disparities.
