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MPR News with Angela Davis
Angela Davis and Danelle Cloutier

Minnesota medical grads aim to heal racial health disparities

Hands with Gray Nail Polish on Her Fingers while Holding Stethoscope
Recent Mayo medical grads Minerva Orellana and Kenneth Valles plan to dedicate their careers to researching racial health disparities.
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Medical-related fields can be hard to get into and get through.

They’re even harder if you’re the first person in your family to not only pursue this kind of career but the first one to go to college.

And tough if you didn’t learn math, science and history through traditional K-12 education.

These experiences are true of the guests joining MPR News host Angela Davis.

They’ve both graduated from school at Mayo Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Rochester, Minn. and they’re focusing their careers on racial disparities in medicine and helping marginalized populations.

They will share their personal stories and how they plan to help marginalized populations in their medical careers.

Guests:

  • Minerva Orellana graduated from the Mayo Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences last month with her Ph.D. in biomedical science. Her graduate research focuses on uterine fibroids in women of color and her post-doctoral research will address gynecological cancers in Black women. 

  • Kenneth Valles graduated in December from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences with his Ph.D. and he’s in his final year of medical school and will graduate as a doctor of medicine from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. His Ph.D. research looked at the challenges, disparities and possible solutions to diseases common among migrant populations, refugees and asylum seekers in Minnesota.