HELIOS Fall 2024 Newsletter

the HELIOS Lab

at the UCI Department of Family Medicine

Fall 2024 Newsletter

HELIOS is committed to partnered learning by listening to perspectives from community members, health providers, and future professionals through focus groups, questionnaires and community forums. We also examine interactions between doctors and patients during medical visits to learn how the right approaches to communicating about priorities, barriers and concerns contribute to better health outcomes.

The HELIOS Lab, 2024-25 academic year

As the fall quarter kicks off, we are thrilled to celebrate our returning students’ participation in the SHARE-FM summer program, welcome new faces to the HELIOS lab, and congratulate our alumni as they embark on medical school, graduate school and more!

Scroll down to see what we’ve been up to!

HELIOS SHARE-FM Summer Program

In Summer of 2024, seven HELIOS members completed the 3rd annual Summer Health Action and Research Experience in Family Medicine (SHARE-FM) program, offered by the HELIOS lab in the UCI Department of Family Medicine in partnership with UC PRIME Prehealth Pathways and the Public Health Information Technology (PHIT) program.

HELIOS students harvesting produce for food distribution programs at the Second Harvest Community Farm

HELIOS students harvesting produce at the Second Harvest Community Farm

HELIOS members learning suturing skills at a clinical skills simulation workshop with UC PRIME Prehealth Pathways.

HELIOS students on an “eco tour” with GREEN MPNA and the UCI EcoGovLab in southeast Santa Ana, looking at the environmental impact of industrial activities in the area and community action to combat it.

Dr. Marco Angulo addresses HELIOS members and PRIME Scholars at the AltaMed Institute for Health Equity

Supported by generous contributions from HELIOS supporters, HELIOS SHARE-FM participants:

completed a 10-week curriculum in professional development, community engagement, clinical experience, leadership and research
gained valuable experience working with UCI Health patients at the UCI Family Health Centers in Santa Ana and Anaheim and the UCI Medical Center in Orange for our NIH-funded Mi Propio Camino project
completed a clinical skills training workshop in suturing skills offered by UC PRIME Prehealth Pathways
participated in community outings to equity-focused community based organizations including AltaMed Institute for Health Equity in South Los Angeles; Santa Ana-based organizations Latino Health Access, GREEN MPNA and KidWorks
Harvested fresh produce for a local food distribution program at the Second Harvest Community Farm

SHARE-FM students: Amanda Arevalo, Denise Segovia, Angyelisa Hernandez, Mario Camacho II, Kimberly Rodriguez , Stacy Segura, Naomi Ferrer

HELIOS Annual Beach Bonfire

The HELIOS Lab kicked off the academic year with our Annual Beach Bonfire Social 2024! We had a blast welcoming new and returning students, building connections, and enjoying the beautiful sunset.

Welcome New Members!

The HELIOS lab welcomed 7 new members to the lab for the Fall, bringing us to a cohort of 19 student members for the 2024-25 academic year. See the bios of all of our members at theHELIOSlab.org/people

2024-25 Post Baccalaureate Students: Bryant Andrade, Marianne So, Juan Carlos Salinas

New Students: Laura Renero, Valeria Lopez Duarte, Jocelyn Vielma Garcia, Amber Huesca

Alumni Spotlight

HELIOS alumni Elizabeth Ordonez and Sara Garrido from the green room at their 2024 White Coat Ceremony at UC Riverside.

Elizabeth and Sara join at least 14 other HELIOS alumni newly enrolled in medical school, professional school and graduate school in medicine, nursing, physician assistant, clinical psychology and related health fields for the 2024-25 academic year!

Congratulations to our alumni!

Message from our PI, Dr. Billimek

The summer of 2024 represented a period of exciting growth for the HELIOS lab and our members.

At least 16 HELIOS alumni matriculated into the professional school or graduate school program of their choice.
- At least SEVEN are starting medical school, all in the UC System!
- At least TWO are starting nursing programs!
- One each are starting Physician Assistant School, a Clinical Psychology doctoral program, a Master of Social Work program and a pre-med Postbacc Program.
- Three others are starting Master’s programs in Public Health or Biomedical Research.
Seven returning members completed our SHARE-FM summer experience, building skills in research, leadership and professional development. They will be the leaders of our class this year.
Seven new members joined us in Fall, and will build upon their strong foundations.

We have never seen our student-driven leadership committees more active and our participation in clinical and community settings more rich than what we are seeing already. What a thrill it will be to see what these students achieve together! We are so grateful for the support of our alumni and friends in this work.

-Dr. B.