Dr. Lopez Leads Way For Future Hispanic/Latin Students

The Redwood City resident had worked in pharmacies on some level or another since he was 15 years old. With his graduation last week from Touro University California College of Pharmacy, the newly-titled Dr. Daniel Lopez is ready to serve his community as a pharmacist.

Beyond the community in Redwood City, or even the peninsula in general, Dr. Lopez will first work to build the trust of the Latino and Hispanic community. As he mentions, the Latino/Hispanic community has had a traditional mistrust of the medical establishment, a mistrust he aims to diminish.

That won’t happen just because his last name is Lopez, he says.

“I don’t expect my future patients to listen to me just because I’m a doctor,” Dr. Lopez said. “I want it to come down to earning their trust. They can look at me and see I’m Latino and have a white coat on, but I want there to be that foundation of trust first.”

The absence of this trust can be seen reflected in statewide vaccination rates. Latinos are among the lowest rate of vaccinations for COVID-19 across the state, as one example.

Dr. Lopez has already earned the trust and respect of his fellow pharmacy students, serving as the student commencement speaker largely because of his leadership and supportive attitude related to others. He’s hopeful that same tone rubs off on others in his community.

Of his graduation from pharmacy school, Dr. Lopez said, “I think it can be particularly inspiring being someone coming from the Latino community and making a difference in medicine,” adding, “I think it reassures those upcoming students that they can do it.”

His pharmacy career, from the age of 15, has now come full circle and the significance of that is still settling in for Dr. Lopez.

“It’s very rewarding to know I’m able to take care of patients and that I’ve done that on every level along the way,” Dr. Lopez said.