“Health equity” will be achieved when every individual has the same opportunity to attain their full health potential because there is equal access to equal health care based upon equal need. Dr. Laura Guyer’s career has been dedicated to the mitigation of health disparities that are associated with social, economic, racial, and educational disparities and elimination of barriers in the health care system. At risk for health disparities are members of socially and economically marginalized populations due to race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, age, religion, disability, socioeconomic status, and geographic location.

Dr. Guyer established the only undergraduate academic program nationwide dedicated to eliminating health disparities while adding diversity to the health professions workforce. Health Disparities in Society, housed at the University of Florida, works in partnership with thirty local safety net clinics, nonprofit organizations, and state agencies to teach students about social inequities, the social determinants of health, cultural competence, health literacy and the social mission of health professions education.

Before returning to UF to establish the health disparities minor, Dr. Guyer spent twenty-five years immersed in the rural culture of north Florida. As a clinician, wellness nutritionist and community educator, she developed cultural sensitivity and awareness about the health care and educational needs of diverse individuals.

Her deep and long-standing commitment to diversity, inclusion and undergraduate education has been recognized by numerous awards including the UF Presidential Service Award for Leadership and Service Advocate of the Year (2020), Faculty Achievement Award (2019), UF Faculty Advisor/Mentor of the Year Award (2016), UF Faculty Leadership and Service Advocate Impact Award (2016) and Advisor of the Year Award (1993). Her commitment and service to the dietetics profession in Florida was recognized by the 1995 President’s Award. The hallmarks of her career include leadership, innovation, creativity, community engagement and collaboration. 

To learn more about Dr. Guyer’s work visit:

• How Can We Change Healthcare? Build Better Doctors. Ytori Magazine. Fall, 2019: 36-37
• LK Guyer, ML Wayne, NS Hardt. (2018). Undergraduate minor in health disparities in society: a magnet for under-represented pre-professional students. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 5: 495–503
• Gainesville Fire Rescue Community Resource Paramedicine (CRP) Program

SPEAKERS: Laura Guyer, Tony Delisle, Jasmine Tran

On this episode, we welcome back Dr. Vincent Venditto, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. Tony and Dr. Venditto begin by reflecting on where we were in the pandemic when they first connected in January and where we are with the pandemic today. Dr. Venditto shares his perspective on where we are in the life cycle of this pandemic and discusses the concerns over the delta variant. They dive into questions about the vaccine, boosters, should people who’ve had the vaccine be masked indoors or should they not be masked, can people who have had the vaccine still spread COVID-19, and get into depth about the hesitancy and resistance with getting vaccinated.

Dr. Venditto received training in vaccine design and immunology and continues to investigate vaccine strategies to better understand how the immune system works in disease progression.

SPEAKERS: Dr. Vincent Venditto, Tony Delisle

On this episode, Tony takes us back to our mission with the purpose and our intentions for The Independent Life podcast: providing a lens to what it’s like to have a disability and to live independently. In Season 1, we strived to accomplish this by talking to people with disabilities in order to gain insights into their lives through their lived experiences. We hoped that by doing so, we could build a community based on unity around disability.

For Season 2, we dove straight into a mini series on Emergency Preparedness to address access and functional needs for people with disabilities, before, during, and after disasters. We spoke with folks across organizations and agencies of people with disabilities, advocates of people with disabilities- to hear their perspective and understand areas that could use improvement in order to better serve those who are most vulnerable during times of disaster. Tony also introduces us to a new weekly addition: Monday Disability Dojos. Each Monday, Tony will talk about a topic, issue area, or philosophy related to independent living and dive into his thoughts about it and perhaps where the disability community needs to be thinking about and keep on the forefront.

SPEAKERS: Tony Delisle