The UC Davis Hispanic Center of Excellence program focuses on Latino agricultural, rural and occupational health issues affecting the surrounding community. Student recruitment activities involve Latino premedical undergraduates, Latino medical students and residents that are teamed with mentors that supervise their activities and discuss the students' research or health policy efforts and problems.
Students participate in a variety of community projects and learn research techniques.
Faculty recruitment and development activities are directed at prospective Mexican and Latino faculty. The Center has acquired Latino-specific data bases through the Internet and the university library. This data base is used for the faculty development program and the Latino-specific research activities. Hispanic students accepted for enrollment in the medical school complete a four or five year curriculum that includes faculty supervised opportunities for basic science, public health, behavioral or clinical research thereby enhancing their critical thinking skills and increasing their ability to compete for positions in academic medical setting. The HCOE medical student's research experiences include preparation, publication, poster and workshop presentations of research papers.