Mona Fouad, M.D.
The UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) will host the 11th annual UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium, The Science of Health Disparities: From Discovery to Delivery, on April 21 at the DoubleTree by Hilton. The symposium highlights work by academic investigators, students and community partners in basic science, clinical research, social and behavioral science, community-based, and health outcomes research the field of health disparities.
The 2016 conference is co-sponsored by two national centers for health disparities research: the Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center and the Gulf States Health Policy Center. The Mid-South Center addresses the social determinants that interplay to impact a person’s health and produce disparate health outcomes of minority populations and is led by Mona Fouad, M.D., director and professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine and director of the UAB MHRC. The Gulf States Center unites community members, partner organizations and service providers to build capacity for health policy research impact and improved health outcomes and is led by Regina Benjamin, M.D., founder and CEO of Bayou Clinic and 18th U.S. surgeon general.
“The symposium showcases the work being done to reduce health inequities in Alabama, the South and our nation,” Fouad said. “It provides an overview of the latest in health disparities research. Scientists and scholars look to it as an excellent opportunity to share discoveries, new approaches and successful models.”
The symposium will feature two keynote speakers who are national experts in the field of health disparities research. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., is the director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. He oversees the Institute’s $281 million budget to conduct and support research, training, research capacity and infrastructure development, public education, and information dissemination programs to improve minority health and reduce health disparities.
Pérez-Stable’s expertise spans a broad range of health disparities disciplines. His research interests have centered on improving the health of racial and ethnic minorities and underserved populations, advancing patient-centered care, improving cross-cultural communication skills among health care professionals, and promoting diversity in the biomedical research workforce.
Leonard Jack Jr., Ph.D., serves as director of the Division of Community Health within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He leads the CDC’s effort at the community level to promote healthy living and prevent chronic disease in order to bring the greatest health benefits to the greatest number of people. The Division of Community Health works to reduce health gaps caused by differences in race and ethnicity, location, social status, income, and other factors that can affect health. Jack’s areas of research expertise include sociocultural aspects of disease management, family- and community-based research, program evaluation, psychosocial aspects of managing diabetes, men’s health, and minority health.
In addition to hearing the vision for health disparities research from national experts, symposium guests will have access to breakout sessions and workshops on such topics as:
- Minority recruitment to clinical trials: Perspectives of professional stakeholders, patient navigators and patients
- Gulf States Health Policy Center TCC — Health policy research
- Basic and clinical science
- Epidemiology and outcomes research
- Social and behavioral science and community-based research
- CBPR: Building successful community and academic partnerships
- Don’t be afraid of social media
- Achieving your policy end game
UAB will also announce awards for the 2016 Excellence in Mentoring, oral presentations and poster presentations.
The symposium is free and open to the public. The DoubleTree Hilton is located at808 20th St. South, Birmingham, AL 35205. Please visit the official registration website to register for the symposium.