Jessica Toledo
Jessica Toledo is a rising third-year medical student at Rush Medical College and the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants. She earned a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of California, Riverside, and a M.S. from Keck Graduate Institute before beginning medical school. Growing up in Southern California, she witnessed health disparities affecting her family and community, inspiring her commitment to improving healthcare access for Latino and underserved populations.
At Rush, Jessica is part of the Health Equity and Social Justice Leadership Program and advocates for marginalized communities through service, leadership, and research. She volunteers at CommunityHealth Free Clinic, providing primary and ophthalmic care, and served as Co-President of Rush LMSA, where she championed initiatives supporting underrepresented minorities in medicine. Her research examines inequities in ophthalmology, specifically evaluating the representation and geographic distribution of Spanish-speaking ophthalmologists in Chicago. Jessica aspires to become an ophthalmologist dedicated to expanding equitable vision care.
Cristhian Gutierrez Huerta
Cristhian Gutierrez Huerta is an MD/PhD trainee at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI. He recently completed his PhD in 2025 and is currently finishing his medical training and core clinical rotations. Raised in a low-income household near the U.S.–Mexico border, Cristhian’s upbringing continues to shape his commitment to community, equity, and mentorship in medicine. His doctoral research focused on microvascular biology and mitochondrial dynamics in endothelial function, with the goal of better understanding mechanisms that contribute to cardiometabolic disease. Alongside his laboratory work, Cristhian is deeply committed to strengthening belonging and support for Latino medical trainees. Through initiatives with MOLA and other national organizations (LMSA, NHMA, and others), he works to promote medical student wellness and address systemic barriers that impact trainees from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Cristhian hopes to pursue a career in academic medicine as a physician-scientist in internal medicine and cardiology.
Anthony Morales
Anthony Morales is a queer, Latino, first-generation college graduate in his 4th year in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Born to immigrant Mexican and Guatemalan families and raised on the South Side of Chicago, his background has shaped a strong commitment to advancing health equity and community-engaged research. His research focuses on improving mental and behavioral health outcomes for historically underserved populations, particularly sexual and gender minority communities of color. His dissertation examines how minority stress contributes to psychological distress and healthcare engagement, with the goal of informing culturally responsive interventions that promote resilience and reduce barriers to care. Clinically, Anthony specializes in health psychology/behavioral medicine. He currently provides culturally responsive, evidence-based psychological assessment, intervention, and consultation to support both medical and psychiatric outcomes. He aspires to pursue a career in academic medicine integrating research, clinical care, and mentorship.
Priscilla Stephanie Molina
Priscilla Stephanie Molina (she/her/ella) is a Guatemalan-American, first-generation/low-income medical student who was born & raised in the vibrant, immigrant-run Los Angeles, CA. Following her parents’ faithful leadership in empowering Latine family & community, Priscilla strives to uplift historically disinvested communities in everything she does.
Priscilla graduated cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020, where she majored in Psychobiology & minored in Latin American Studies & Public Health. Presently, Priscilla studies at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, where she is a Program on Medicine & Religion fellow. Her research project aims to expand the existing literature on spirituality & human flourishing among communities of color, particularly migrant/Spanish-speaking communities.
Career-wise, Priscilla’s passion lies at the intersection of spirituality, mental health, and holistic wellbeing, and therefore aims to work in the primary care & psychiatric fields as a physician-scientist. She is honored to learn & grow with the MOLA community in her time as a scholar.
Liza Yusem Carstens
Liza Yusem Carstens is a first-generation immigrant, born in Rosario, Argentina, and spending most of her life in Washington state. She graduated with cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors from Rice University with a double major in Sports Medicine & Exercise Physiology and Spanish & Portuguese. During her time at Rice, she also competed as an NCAA Division 1 athlete in cross country and track & field. Currently, she is a rising third-year medical student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she has focused her extracurricular and scholarly activities on improving healthcare access and health literacy for Latinx and other underserved communities. Liza recently received the LMSA Community Impact Grant to launch a community project aimed at increasing awareness of skin cancer and melanoma warning signs among the Latinx community in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. In her free time, you can find Liza swimming in the lake, volunteering, and exploring the many vibrant neighborhoods of Chicago.
Luz Mata-Iriarte
Luz Mata-Iriarte is a proud Mexican and rising third-year medical student at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois. Originally from a farm in Ocala, Florida, her upbringing within the horse racing industry and close connection to Latino agricultural communities deeply shaped her commitment to health equity. Through her research and service, she is dedicated to addressing disparities in access and outcomes for underserved populations. She aspires to pursue dermatology, with a focus on combining clinical care, advocacy, and disparities research.
Anthony Xavier Rodriguez
Anthony Xavier Rodriguez is a first‑generation college student and medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine, shaped by his roots in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood and the unwavering support of his close‑knit family. His research experience spans clinical, public health, and laboratory settings, but he is most driven by work that uplifts communities like the one that raised him. Anthony aims to pursue a career in oncology with a focus on improving care for underrepresented populations, inspired by both personal experiences and his professional exposure to the profound impact of cancer. Outside of medicine, he enjoys working on his car, staying active at the gym, cooking, and proudly claims the title of #1 TV on the Radio stan.
Giuliana Perini Villanueva
Giuliana Perini Villanueva is a third-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Health from Tufts University. Born in Colombia and raised in Miami, she remains connected to her Colombian and broader Latinx roots, which shape her commitment to advancing health equity in underserved communities. Her interests focus on improving prevention and management of chronic conditions, including diabetes and depression, that significantly impact Latinx populations. Her work has examined frailty among older adults as well as barriers to diabetes care and management. In addition to her research, Giuliana serves as President of Med Mentors and as an executive member of the LMSA National Mentorship Committee, where she leads mentorship initiatives supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing careers in medicine. She hopes to build a career advancing equitable, culturally responsive care for underserved and aging communities.
Maria Gabriela Pino Paez
Gabriela Pino is a Health Sciences student at Rush University in Chicago. Born and raised in Mérida, Venezuela, she began medical school in her home country before immigrating to the United States, where she restarted her academic journey to pursue her goal of becoming a physician. As a Venezuelan and Latina immigrant, her lived experiences have shaped her commitment to advancing health equity and serving Latino and underserved communities.
Gabriela has been involved in language-concordant care research in a Spanish epilepsy clinic and is currently studying the experiences of Hispanic/Latinx families seeking care after pediatric orthopedic injuries at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is passionate about culturally competent care, global health, and improving healthcare access for Spanish-speaking communities. Her ultimate goal is to become a physician dedicated to advancing health equity through patient care, research, and mentorship.
Isabella (Isa) Cook Méndez
Isa is a third-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She is Costa Rican and grew up in San José before moving to Baltimore at eighteen to earn a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Johns Hopkins University. Her advocacy work with the Latine community started in college, when she connected patients and families at a pediatric clinic in East Baltimore to vital resources, especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was also a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where she conducted translational research on pharmacologics for autoimmune diseases. In medical school, Isa has served as a clinic coordinator at the Southside student-run clinic, helping expand access to care for uninsured patients, and has contributed to quality improvement projects at a local FQHC aimed at reducing barriers to cervical cancer screening. Her current research focuses on language concordance in pain communication among Spanish-speaking patients from diverse countries, examining whether a visual pain tool is effective across different dialects. Isa plans to pursue a career in internal medicine, where she will continue to build on her work in culturally responsive care and health equity.
John Maldonado
John Maldonado is a first-generation Mexican-American, second-year medical student at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine. Born in Montebello, California, and raised in Denver, Colorado, he is the son of parents who immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico. His mother was a nurse in a small town in Jalisco and was the first to inspire his interest in medicine. He received his BA from CU Boulder. Now at Stritch, John has served as a board member for LMSA, Medical Spanish program, and the Vascular Surgery Interest Group. His research experience spans basic science and clinical projects. He hopes to further develop research focused on underserved communities and health disparities affecting Latino populations. John is primarily interested in surgery, especially Otolaryngology. He is currently working with faculty at Loyola Medicine’s Vascular Surgery department on a project examining postoperative outcome disparities in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms repairs using the Area Deprivation Index on a national scale.