Alejandro Vera presented at the Ethic Medicine Innovation Conference in Houston, Texas, and at the University of Rochester's 4th Annual Paul M. Schyve, MND Center for Bioethics Conference. He presented on the "Ethical Implications of Using AI-generated Images for Social Advocacy of Visible Diseases – An Ethical Case Analysis".
A student spotlight on Anh Truonghuynh, MPH '25 in epidemiology, who connected a Galveston community garden practicum and ILE research on reproductive law to a single through-line — public health works best when it starts from where people actually are.
On May 14, the UTMB School of Public and Population Health joined United Way of Galveston to host community partners for a working session on shared public health practice. Table conversations surfaced practical ideas around mental health access, resource navigation, and early childhood as prevention.
M. L. N. Kirby presented "Procedural Meaning in Knowledge Production: How Harm Perpetuates through Process and Product" at the Health Humanities Consortium Conference. They argued that analyzing the methodology of scientific research for meaning can give researchers an expanded toolset to create better outcomes for patients. This presentation was part their work expanding the principles of procedural rhetoric to better understand how systems function and what they mean.
Student Valeria Galan Trujillo presented at the Health Humanities Consortium on "Reframing Aging: Toward a More Just and Thoughtful Understanding of Anti-Aging Aesthetic Medicine." The presentation remarked on the popularity worldwide of anti-aging aesthetic interventions, both invasive and non-invasive. Highlighting the fact that despite the considerable demand for these interventions, they are still often dismissed as merely cosmetic and are not widely accepted as legitimate medical therapies. On the one hand, insurance companies generally dismiss anti-aging aesthetic procedures and refuse to reimburse them, because they are considered elective and, therefore, not medically necessary. On the other hand, cultural biases reinforced by prevailing social frameworks may determine who is perceived as deserving of these interventions, creating an asymmetry in how society accepts different forms of cosmetic procedures. While other interventions like makeup, hairdressing services, scalp micropigmentation, teeth whitening, etc., are widely embraced, anti-aging procedures still face stigma and restricted acceptance. This discrepancy undermines health justice and perpetuates inequality in access to aesthetic care.
* Approximations subject to change
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