Every child has aspirations of what they want to be when they grow up, whether it be a firefighter, police officer or astronaut. For Derek Rodriguez ’23, that dream was to be a medical doctor.
And when at the age of eight he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer in children that affects muscle tissue, that experience ignited this passion to want to help other cancer patients.
“When you go through that as a child, you learn to think, ‘Oh, what if I grow up to be a superhero in this field? Imagine the impact I could have helping other individuals navigate and enhance their survivorship journey,” Rodriguez says.
Today, Rodriguez is 22 years cancer-free and a senior clinical research scientist in the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT San Antonio Health Science Center.
Before finding his path as a scientist, Rodriguez was set on pursuing medical school and began his undergraduate work in biology at Texas State University in 2013. However, it was during his time as a Bobcat that a new passion was ignited — conducting research.
As an undergraduate, Rodriguez worked on researching neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that develops from immature nerve cells. His passion for research was further solidified when he began his graduate studies at UTSA in 2017.
“I like to joke that I drank too much of the research Kool-Aid. I chose graduate school over medical school because I was inspired by the opportunity to drive change at the population level — advancing research and shaping policies that improve health outcomes for entire communities, not just individual patients,” he says.
Rodriguez realize he could marry science and medicine while still honoring his childhood dreams of being in the medical field. In 2023, Rodriguez earned a doctorate in translational science, which is a joint doctoral degree between UT San Antonio, UT at Austin and UT Health Houston School of Public Health. The program is designed to create scientists who not only can advance basic biomedical knowledge but also engage with clinical and community insights to translate discoveries into effective strategies that improve healthcare delivery, patient outcomes and community health.
And that’s exactly what Rodriguez is doing as a scientist in the IHPR. Rodriguez currently serves as a project manager for the Avanzando Caminos: The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Cohort Study and helps lead the Avanzando Salud: Cancer Health Research Center, both under the director of IHRP, Amelie Ramirez, DrPH, MPH.
“The Avanzando Caminos study looks to unpack some of the cultural, biological, medical, social and psychosocial factors that shape the post-cancer experience among Latino cancer survivors,” he says. “This groundbreaking study is the first of its kind to look at these influences. It will be the largest cohort study enrolling 3,000 Latino cancer survivors across South Texas and South Florida.”
Through the Avanzando Salud Center, Rodriguez says they are dedicated to empowering early-career investigators to explore innovative ideas to cancer and its impact to underrepresented populations, whether they are in a rural or urban setting. The Center’s work is grounded in addressing non-medical drivers of health and advancing cancer prevention, outcomes and survivorship through research, mentoring and community engagement.
Rodriguez says both studies spoke to him because it focuses on the patients’ health-related quality of life and cancer prevention, which could “potentially lead to other interventions that involve enhanced screening strategies and advanced precision medicine.”
Rodriguez, who is looking to become an assistant professor of research, is very proud of the work he’s done.
“My younger self would be proud. Back then, I thought the only way to make a difference was through medical school. I never could have imagined the path I’d take — one filled with unexpected turns and new opportunities. But in the end, I found a way to serve others and create change in a way that’s just as meaningful. It’s a reminder that purpose doesn’t always follow a straight line,” Rodriguez says.
“In the end, I did exactly what I set out to do — help a community close to my heart. Now I have the opportunity to serve an underrepresented population and work toward a mission of preventing cancer before it starts. I remember thinking as a child, ‘If cancer is affecting me this deeply, what about others like me who are living with the same fears, the same exhausting cycles of treatments? That question has stayed with me and continues to drive everything I do.”
As Rodriguez looks towards his future career path, he hopes to one day establish his own research institute or work in a clinical setting focused on advancing research and education. He’s committed to improving community understanding of health and guiding future clinicians in designing studies and communicating research findings in a clear, accessible way.
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