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FORUM HOST:
Stephen Olufemi Sodeke, PhD; MA, DBE
Resident Bioethicist, Center for Biomedical Research
Professor of Bioethics and Allied Health Sciences
Tuskegee University

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Francesca G. Weaks, DrPH MCHES
Assistant Research Scientist
The Health, Environmental and Economic Justice (T.H.E. E.J. Lab)
Maryland Center for Health Equity, MCHE
School of Public Health; University of Maryland

Read more about our keynote speaker.

The 2025 Bioethics Forum is an in-person event!

See below for location details and directions.

Event Location:
Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort & Spa at Grand National
3700 Robert Trent Jones Trail
Opelika, AL 36801

Directions to the event venue:

Click here to download a flyer (PDF)

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David Chaplin, MD, PhD
Emeritus Professor
Department of Microbiology
Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Paulette Patterson Dilworth, PhD
Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lucenia Dunn, PhD
President/CEO, Tuskegee-Macon County Community Foundation, Inc.
Former Mayor, City of Tuskegee, Alabama

Clifford Kennon, EdS, MPA, CPP
Program Director
CCTS Engagement of Communities

Chiquita Lee
Project Coordinator
Tuskegee University

Lisa McCormick, DrPH
Professor and Associate Dean for Public Health Practice
Department of Environmental Health Science
School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lucio Miele, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Genetics
University of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

Meena Nabavi, MPH
Program Manager
Department of Environmental Health Science/Office of Public Health Practice
School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Mariko Nakano, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medical Education
Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Stephen Sodeke, PhD, MA
Resident Bioethicist & Professor of Bioethics and Allied Health Sciences
Center for Biomedical Research & Modern Languages, Communication, and Philosophy
Tuskegee University

Angela Williams
Program Coordinator
UAB Minority Health and Health Equity Research Center

For more information about the CCTS Bioethics Forum contact:

Stephen Sodeke, PhD
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clifford Kennon, MPA
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2024 - View the recordings here.

"Ethical AI: Bridging Gaps in Healthcare and Research for Underserved Communities"
Friday, February 23, 2024; 8:30 am-3:30 pm

Bridging gaps in healthcare and research are critical in improving overall health outcomes across underserved communities. Using artificial intelligence is one tool to assist medical professionals, provide patient services, evaluate data to produce insights, and improve decision-making while improving healthcare with more accurate diagnoses and enabling more personalized treatments. Join us in–person in Montgomery, Alabama with our expert forum presenters as we discuss ways artificial intelligence benefits underserved communities.

2024 Speakers

FORUM HOST:
Stephen Sodeke, PhD, D. Bioethics
Resident Bioethicist, Center for Biomedical Research
Professor of Bioethics and Allied Health Sciences
Tuskegee University

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Irene Dankwa-Mullan, MD, MPH
Chief Health Officer, Marti Health
Affiliate Faculty Professor, George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health

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SCHOLAR PRESENTATIONS MODERATOR:
Bruce Korf, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Genomic Medicine
UAB Heersink School of Medicine

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DISCUSSION PANEL MODERATOR:

Gregory Pavela, PhD
Associate Professor and Associate Dean
UAB School of Public Health

PANELISTS:

Matthew Might, PhD
Director, Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute; Heersink School of Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Rachele Hendricks-Sturrup, DHSc
Research Director, Real-World Evidence (RWE)
Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy

Lucio Miele, MD, PhD
Cancer Crusaders Professor and Chair, Department of Genetics,
Assistant Dean for Translational Sciences; Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

Lucenia W. Dunn, PhD
President/CEO, Tuskegee Macon County Community Foundation
Former Mayor, Tuskegee, Alabama

Claudia Hardy, MPA
Instructor, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Heersink School of Medicine
Director, Community and Research Relations
UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center

Angela G. Williams, Program Coordinator
Collaborative Outreach and Community Health Program |COaCH
UAB Heersink School of Medicine|Division of Preventive Medicine

Bernice Frazier, Chairwoman of the Board
Macon County Healthcare Authority

2023 - View the recording here.

"Earning Trust through Community-Engaged Research"
Tuesday, February 21, 2023, 10am-12pm

Earning community trust is critical in building mutually healthy relationships that will improve overall health equity and outcomes across communities. Join the conversation with our expert forum panel as we discuss ways the community and researchers are coming together and building strong partnerships through dialogue, community engagement and shared resources.

Each year, the CCTS Bioethics Forum brings together researchers, bioethicists, students, community members, front-line research staff, and clinical staff to discuss ethical issues in research. We invite you to register and join the conversation!

2023 Speakers

Joan R. Harrell, DMIN, MDIV, MS
Director, Inclusive Excellence, Dean’s Office
College of Liberal Arts
Journalism and Africana Studies Lecturer
Founder and Moderator, Auburn University Becoming the Beloved Community

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Claudia M. Hardy, MPA | Instructor, UAB Department of Medicine
Director, UAB Community Health Access & Relations, Office of Community Outreach & Engagement
UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center

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Mariana Montero, MS
Executive Director, Golden Change, Inc.
Empowering ethnically diverse communities
New Orleans, Louisiana

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Consuelo H. Wilkins, MD, MSCI | Professor of Medicine
Senior Vice President and Senior Associate Dean
for Health Equity and Inclusive Excellence
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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Celeste Reese Willis, MD
Host of online TV Show, “Let’s Chat with Doctor Celeste MD”
Nationally recognized speaker, best-selling author, and family medicine physician.
Birmingham, Alabama

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Frewin Osteen | Prichard Housing Authority
Board Member, Center for Healthy Communities
University of South Alabama

2022 Speakers

Rev. Derrol Dawkins, MD
Pediatrician, Metro Pediatrics
Pastor, New Start Covenant of Grace Church, Birmingham, AL

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Lucenia W. Dunn, PhD
President/CEO, Tuskegee-Macon County Community Foundation, Inc.
Former Mayor, City of Tuskegee, Alabama

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Bruce Korf, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Genomic Medicine at UAB Heeersink School of Medicine
Chief Genomic Officer, UAB Medicine

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Lucio Miele, MD, PhD
Co-Director, CCTS
Site Lead, LSU Health Sciences Center
Assistant Dean of Translational Science
Chair, LSUHSC Department of Genetics

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Rev. Deonna D. Neal, PhD
Interim Rector, St. John's Episcopal Church, Montgomery, AL
Chair, USA Triathlon Ethics Committee

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Victoria L. Seewaldt, MD
Ruth Ziegler Chair in Population Sciences
Chair, Department of Population Sciences
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center

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Clayton Yates, PhD
Professor, Department of Biology and Center for Cancer Research
Director of Center for Biomedical Research
Tuskegee University

2021 Speakers

Mercedes Morales-Aléman, PhD | Assistant Professor
Department of Community Medicine and Population Health | University of Alabama
Background: Graduate of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and Michigan State University.
Fun Fact: She serves as the chair of the College of Community Health Sciences Committee for Academic Diversity and Inclusion.
Research Focus: Sexual health and health care access among ethnic minority women in the US South.

Thomas Beavers, DMin | Pastor
New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church
Background: Graduate of Kentucky State University and Beeson Divinity School of Samford University
Fun Fact: He succeeded his grandfather, who served as the pastor of his church for 35 years.
Ministry Focus: Efforts that impact the community in education, financial literacy, workforce development, housing, and recreation as well as developing a better quality of life on earth.

Latesha Elopre, MD | Epidemiologist
Assistant Professor of Medicine | University of Alabama at Birmingham
Background: Graduate of the University of Florida. She then underwent Internal Medicine Residency and Infectious Diseases’ Fellowship training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During this time, she also received her MSPH in Applied Epidemiology.
Fun Fact: She has won both the Dean’s Excellence Award in Diversity and the Unsung Hero Award at UAB.
Research Focus: Social determinants of health for STDs, including HIV.

Richard Goldsby, PhD | Professor Emeritus
Biology | Amherst College
Background: Graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and has served as professor of biology at Amherst College since 1982.
Fun Fact: He has an interest in the biology of race, which arose from efforts to understand the biological roots of the debates about a relationship between race and behavior and has published work on the subject.
Research Focus: He is an immunologist, interested in the cellular and molecular biology of the immune response.

Lillie Head | President
Voices for our Fathers
Background: Lillie Head’s father, Freddie Lee Tyson, is one of more than 600 men who were enrolled in the Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Study. She founded Voices for our Fathers as a way to connect other relatives of the study’s victims across generations, to provide annual scholarships to descendants of participants, and to participate in the Research Project: “The Untold Story”.
Fun Fact: She leads efforts to offer support and guidance to the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, while pursuing all other strategic plans. 

Michael Saag, MD | Professor/Associate Dean
Infectious Disease | University of Alabama at Birmingham
Background: Graduate of Tulane University and the University of Louisville. He completed his residency and infectious disease and molecular virology fellowship training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Fun Fact: Founded the 1917 Clinic, a comprehensive AIDS treatment and research center at UAB, more than 30 years ago.
Research Focus: HIV/AIDS infection control, Antiretroviral therapy, HIV/AIDS research, and Hepatitis C diagnosis and therapy.