This collection of stories showcases the transformative work our Duke Latiné/Hispanic employees are doing in their professional lives and within our communities. Send us your stories.
You can also learn more about ongoing activities, volunteer opportunities, and more in the ¡DALHE! quarterly newsletter, which is published four times per year. Check out our most recent issues:
Xiomara Manon Boyce: Three-Time Cancer Survivor Navigates the Journey with Duke Patients
When Xiomara Mañón Boyce experienced cancer for the third time, she came to Duke for treatment. She immediately saw a huge difference between receiving cancer care here as opposed to somewhere else. Now, as a Duke Cancer Institute patient navigator, Xiomara uses her own experience to help cancer patients navigate their journey. She sees her role as the perfect blend of the empathy and personal care she provides and the research and clinical science behind the treatment. In this story, Xiomara shares her experience and the passion her whole team has for the patients they serve. (Log in with Duke NetID and password.)
Hispanic Heritage Month: Honoring Legacy, Innovation, and Advocacy
Stories of resilience, innovation, and advocacy took center stage at Duke during the third annual ¡DALHE! Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration held on September 22.
Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrating Contributions and Achievements
Two health care leaders with Duke University’s Schools of Nursing and Medicine, Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda and Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, have devoted their careers to improving health outcomes for Latiné/Hispanic populations.
Liza Genao, MD: Teaching Medical Spanish for the Benefit of Patients and Students
As a provider who primarily cares for patients living with dementia at the Duke Geriatrics Evaluation and Treatment Clinic, Liza Genao, MD, understands how important it is for patients to feel understood and seen. That understanding motivates her to teach medical Spanish to future doctors.
Climate Pathfinder: Ph.D. Student Focuses on Heat, Health and Community
Elizabeth Rojo, a PhD candidate in Population Health, aims to develop interventions to protect vulnerable populations such as farm workers from the effects of extreme heat.
Newly Discovered ‘Sixth Sense’ Links Gut Microbes to the Brain in Real Time
A newly discovered “neurobiotic sense” reveals how gut cells listen to microbial chatter and signal the brain to influence hunger, cravings, and behavior.
Duke Views: Portraits and Narratives
Lauren Valle, 2025 Duke graduate in biology, was the winner of this year’s Julia Harper Day Award for Documentary Studies (CDS), one of the university’s leading student awards in the arts. Valle’s capstone project, “Unseen Histories: Latinidad in Focus,” consists of large-format black-and-white portraits and personal narratives of 10 student activists. Shown here is Mariana Meza Mantilla, a rising senior, whose studies focus on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Empowering Communities: Duke Medical Students Lead Cancer Awareness Training with El Centro Hispano
On May 7, two Duke medical students partnered with a faculty member from the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences to support a pilot initiative called LIDERES (Latino Initiative for Delivering Education and Raising Engagement on Screening for Head & Neck Cancer). The students led a two-hour workshop in Spanish focused on head and neck cancer awareness and early detection techniques.
Building a Workplace of Belonging
¡DALHE! is among the many employee-led resource and affinity groups at Duke that bring colleagues together. The groups promote inclusion while fostering connections among colleagues and the wider community.
CTSI Partners with Root Causes, NCCU, El Centro Hispano to Study Food as Medicine
New research finds that delivering medically tailored groceries and nutrition education to underserved communities improves blood pressure and food security.