Kara Leasure Shanley

Proteasomes team up to combat high sugar levels in cells, and also play a role in neurological diseases September 24, 2020 Garbage is a fact of life: all living things produce some form of waste that needs to be disposed of. A buildup of waste inside of cells can cause problems for living things, just like garbage left out on the streets can ruin our environment. Luckily, cells have a way to get rid of their garbage. And, they can do it more efficiently when flooded with sugar.

On a windy morning in May, a group of health care workers and community leaders gathered for a prayer in a Hobbs, N.M., park. They were preparing for two days of free COVID-19 testing organized for African Americans in the community. "That just did something for everyone,” recalls Evelyn Rising, MS.

Christopher Medina has a vision for how to give back to the state he calls home, and this month he will be pursuing that path as a University of New Mexico School of Medicine graduate. Medina grew up in Las Cruces, where he attended public schools, but he also spent time in Cloudcroft with his family. "I got to have both the rural and urban upbringing,” he says. In high school, Medina enjoyed music, playing percussion for the marching band and bass guitar in a jazz band.