Congratulations to Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati for receiving the JEP Award for Community-Engaged Teaching and Research during the 2022 JEP Community Service Awards
You can watch the recording of the ceremony here or on JEP’s page here:
https://dornsife.usc.edu/joint-educational-project/award-winners-2022/
JEP Award for Community-Engaged Teaching and Research: Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati
The JEP Award for Community-Engaged Teaching and Research was established in 2019 to recognize USC faculty who meaningfully integrate community engagement into their teaching and/or research.
This year’s winner is Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, who has centered community engagement in her work for decades. She is a Professor of Preventive Medicine at the USC Keck School of Medicine and serves in many other capacities, including heading the Community Health Equity Solutions Initiative, serving as the Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, collaborating with the Office of Community Engagement at the Southern California Clinical Translation Institute (CTSI), and serving as the founding Director of the Center for Health Equity in the Americas.
Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati’s research focuses on cancer, health disparities, tobacco use among vulnerable population groups and in underserved communities. She uses innovative, participatory approaches to communicate about science and health, working with community partners to develop interventions that promote healthy behaviors and reduce risk factors. One such project – the “Tamale Lesson” — utilized storytelling (a short-form videoclip) to reach an important community (Latinx women) about a life-saving subject (the importance of cervical cancer screenings), resulting in increased screenings among the targeted population. She has contributed to the Vaccinate LA initiative that works to facilitate access to COVID vaccines. Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati enlisted the support of “Community Vaccination Navigators” or “Promotoras”– members of communities who are trained to help their neighbors identify misinformation and learn more about the benefits of getting vaccinated by going from house to house and knocking on doors.
Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati’s work has been widely recognized and is a model for community-engaged researchers around the world. Congratulations Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati!