Dr. Lilia Cervantes is a tenured Professor and the Director of Immigrant Research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. Her foundational community-partnered research created the evidence base that moved U.S. state Medicaid programs from emergency-only dialysis to scheduled, standard outpatient care for undocumented immigrants. This transition achieved a 14-fold reduction in mortality and reduced costs by $5,000 per patient per month, driving Colorado’s 2019 policy expansion and catalyzing similar reforms across more than 20 states. A leader in interventional science, Dr. Cervantes led Navigate-Kidney, a randomized trial demonstrating that community health worker support improves patient-centered outcomes. Her commitment to systemic change is further evidenced by her leadership in advocacy and health policy training for physician-scientists and her service on governor-appointed boards overseeing finance and insurance policy. For her transformative contributions to health equity and policy, she has been honored with the Bernard Lown Social Responsibility Award and the AAP's Helen Ranney Award.