{"id":1960,"date":"2024-12-14T04:37:58","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T04:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happy-liskov.74-208-176-141.plesk.page\/2024\/?post_type=story&p=1960"},"modified":"2025-02-05T22:45:51","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T22:45:51","slug":"a-shining-star-in-southern-arizona","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/annualreports.healthsciences.arizona.edu\/2024\/story\/a-shining-star-in-southern-arizona\/","title":{"rendered":"A shining star in southern Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rogelio Robles-Morales, MD<\/b>, began his medical career as an obstetrician-gynecologist in Nogales, Mexico; however, during his residency, he had the opportunity to gain experience in subspecialties or fellowships related to obstetrics and gynecology. An introduction to gynecological oncology inspired him to pursue a career in cancer care and research.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI assisted an oncologist in a surgery that was so delicate and intricate \u2013 it amazed me,\u201d Robles-Morales said.<\/span><\/p>\n

During his residency training, Robles-Morales was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He said he was afraid his longevity as a surgeon would be decreased due to the long duration of oncology surgeries, and he wanted to remain active helping cancer patients for a longer time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So he entered the doctoral program in clinical translational sciences<\/a> at the University of Arizona College of Health Sciences<\/a>. His focus was on cancer prevention methods that could benefit his hometown of Nogales and other underserved communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was drawn to the university by Cynthia A. Thomson, PhD<\/strong>, a professor emeritus at the U of A Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health<\/a> and U of A Cancer Center<\/a> member who retired last fall. She stood out to him as a leader in women\u2019s health initiatives in Southern Arizona and became his faculty mentor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that in order to be more impactful during my practice, I needed to do something that will not only help the patient in front of me, but can transcend to the community,\u201d Robles-Morales said. \u201cI have gained a lot of public health experience and knowledge from Dr. Thompson, which helped me get more in touch with my community. I have come to understand that a great goal for any research project is policy change or to create a program. That way your work keeps on going without you and may lead to even more discoveries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Amplifying his impact on patients<\/b><\/p>\n

As part of his doctoral studies, Robles-Morales participated in the Vida Plena study<\/a>, which was led by Thomson to improve the uptake of American Cancer Society guidelines for cancer survivorship. She encouraged him to use his experiences as a doctor to aid his translational research.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI bring the clinical perspective of what the difficulties are during cancer treatment, whether patients are going to be eligible for the clinical trial, and expertise in other terminologies and concepts,\u201d Robles-Morales said. \u201cI\u2019ve also recruited some of my own patients to join the study. It\u2019s hard to get people to think about things like physical activity and nutrition after heavy chemotherapy and surgery. With this, I\u2019m taking responsibility to say, \u2018I am the surgeon, and I am also taking care of the pre-op and the post-op and the healing after they go through chemo.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomson connected him with an additional mentor with similar expertise, <\/span>Purnima Madhivanan, PhD, MBBS, MPH<\/b>, an associate professor of health promotion sciences in the Zuckerman College of Public Health<\/a> and a member of the U of A Cancer Center<\/a>. She shares Robles-Morales\u2019 vision of bringing global health strategies to local communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Madhivanan and Robles-Morales applied the experience they gained in other countries to spark an idea to increase cervical cancer screenings and vaccination rates. The project involves using community health workers as liaisons between community members and health care professionals. Patients are empowered to self-collect a sample when they want to avoid the more invasive pelvic exam.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a lot of cultures, women do not feel comfortable about having a pelvic exam,\u201d Madhivanan said. \u201cThis is something that I\u2019ve already done in India, and we\u2019re trying to replicate it here in the United States. We use community health workers to get patients comfortable about self-sampling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Morales echoed this passion for improving screenings for cervical cancer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWomen\u2019s cancer screenings are often more invasive and uncomfortable than those for men,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m advocating for a less invasive procedure for women to screen for cancer, because if there is a need for a deeper evaluation after an initial screening, everyone will go through it. But going for something that invasive, just to get screened? It seems wrong. How is it possible that we\u2019re screening woman with the same procedures that were invented almost 100 years ago?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Going the extra mile to achieve results<\/b><\/p>\n

Madhivanan said the scale of this project was so large they had to come up with a plan to help uninsured women who needed follow-up procedures after initial screening. They decided to provide free treatment to these patients at Robles-Morales\u2019 clinic in Mexico. He he has led multiple fundraising events to cover the expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Madhivanan calls Robles-Morales a \u201cshining star\u201d in cancer research and prevention, adding that his background of practicing medicine in Mexico leads to unique approaches to problem solving.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are using out-of-the-box strategies to make this happen,\u201d said Madhivanan, who is a member of the university\u2019s BIO5 Institute<\/a>. \u201cDr. Robles-Morales is a doctoral student and my practice is in India, but we are very similar culturally and in the way we think. We wanted to see if there was some way we could shake the status quo and have a paradigm shift in terms of applying some of the strategies we have used in global health settings right here in our backyard in the United States and Mexico.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She said Robles-Morales\u2019 unique combination of drive and humility is key to his success as a researcher and clinician.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of those rare individuals who has the empathy, intelligence and dedication to truly make a difference,\u201d Madhivanan said. \u201cHe\u2019s not pursuing his PhD for credentials \u2013 he\u2019s already an MD. He\u2019s doing it because he wants to help people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As an obstetrician-gynecologist, Robles-Morales said much of his work focused on the joy of welcoming a new life. Now, he has embraced the challenge and triumph of fighting cancer and saving lives while making meaningful connections with his patients.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this special connection,\u201d Robles-Morales said of his patients. \u201cI always use the word team \u2013 \u2018Your family and me are a team fighting against this.\u2019 I always try to portray myself as their ally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1961,"parent":0,"template":"","college":[],"uahs_theme":[12],"class_list":["post-1960","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","uahs_theme-next-generation-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA shining star in southern Arizona - University of Arizona Health Sciences Annual Impact Report 2024<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/annualreports.healthsciences.arizona.edu\/2024\/story\/a-shining-star-in-southern-arizona\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A shining star in southern Arizona - University of Arizona Health Sciences Annual Impact Report 2024\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rogelio Robles-Morales, MD, began his medical career as an obstetrician-gynecologist in Nogales, Mexico; however, during his residency, he had the opportunity to gain experience in subspecialties or fellowships related to obstetrics and gynecology. 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