The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has distinguished the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus with the prestigious Institutional Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in Biomedical Research.

The NIH Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD) announced the ten recipients of the NIH Institutional Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in Biomedical Research. In April 2023, the NIH launched the DEIA Award Competition to recognize transformative projects and processes developed by institutions of higher education that promote inclusive excellence and foster environments that advance an institutional culture based on diversity and equity.

Ana Vázquez Pagán has been in the African country since last year on a scholarship for people interested in global health.

Scientist Ana Vázquez Pagán was in eighth grade when she lost a close family member who was pregnant during the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) or swine flu pandemic. The event scarred her, and that death planted a question in her mind: "How could this have happened?

At the time, Vázquez Pagán did not plan to pursue a career as a researcher. It wasn't until she was 17, when she participated in a nanotechnology camp at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), that she considered becoming a scientist.

Over the years, that question remained with her.