The 17th Annual UAB Health Equity Research Symposium, titled "Achieving Health Equity Through Community Engaged Research," took place at the Birmingham Hilton at UAB on April 2, 2024. The event had nearly 400 registrants and showcased the exceptional work in health disparities and health equity being conducted by academic investigators, students, and community partners from 11 states and Trinidad and Tobago.
The symposium featured a variety of research formats, including a poster session and oral presentations. Out of more than 100 abstract submissions, 52 research abstracts were selected for the poster session, covering topics that ranged from The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning on Child and Parent Behavior Outcomes in a Crime Reduction Initiative to Evaluating the Role of Education on the Association between Race and Food Insecurity. The oral presentations, conducted in three breakout rooms, included discussions on topics such as Advancing Health Equity In Community and Clinical Settings, as well as Cancer Research in Areas Affected by Persistent Poverty.
Senior researchers served as judges, evaluating each poster and oral presentation using the NIH Research Project Grant Applications 9-point scale critique, focusing on criteria such as overall impact, significance in relation to health disparities, investigator(s), innovation, approach, and potential for future funding.
The keynote address, delivered by Otis Brawley, M.D., highlighted strategies for achieving health equity through community engaged research. Dr. Brawley, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, is renowned for his work in cancer screening and prevention, particularly in addressing cancer health disparities.
The symposium concluded with the UAB MHERC Excellence in Mentoring Awards, recognizing faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding mentoring and contributed significantly to the career development of students, scholars, and early-stage investigators.
The event was organized and hosted by the UAB Minority Health & Health Equity Research Center (MHERC), a University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Center recognized as a Center for Excellence by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The symposium was sponsored by the Cancer Awareness Research, Engagement and Support Center (CARES), a part of the National Cancer Institute's Persistent Poverty Initiative; the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS); Collaborative Health Equity Council (CHEC); Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health; the Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, Autoimmunity, and Bone Center (CAMBAC); and the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB.
2024 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium Oral/Paper Presentations - Top Presenters
1st Place: Ronit Elk, Ph.D., FAAHPM
Professor, UAB Heersink School of Medicine
Department of Medicine
Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care
Development of a Training Program by an African American Community for Health Care Providers: Development of the Program and Evaluating Its Outcome
2nd Place: S. M. Qasim Hussaini, M.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor, UAB Heersink School of Medicine
O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
Division of Hematology & Oncology
Association of Historical Housing Discrimination and Colon Cancer Treatment and Outcomes in the United States
3rd Place: Timiya S. Nolan, Ph.D., APRN-CNP
Associate Professor, UAB Heersink School of Medicine
Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine
Partnering in Negating Statistics (P.I.N.S.) for Black Women: A Women’s Community Wellness Initiative
2024 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium Poster Presentations - Top Presenters
1st Place: McKenzie T. Brown
The University of Alabama
School of Social Work
Systematic Review: Impact of Psychological Interventions for Pain in Older African Americans
2nd Place: Wendelyn Oslock, M.D., MBA
University of Alabama at Birmingham, VA Medical Center Quality Scholar
Heersink School of Medicine
Department of Surgery
Ambient Particulate Matter Exposure and Prolonged Length of Stay after Colorectal Surgery –A Novel Association
3rd Place: Andrew Van, M.S.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Heersink School of Medicine
Equal Access Birmingham
Cost Savings Analysis of a Student-Run Free Clinic
2024 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium Excellence in Mentoring Award Recipients
Pamela Payne-Foster, M.D., MPH
Professor
The University of Alabama
College of Community Health Sciences
Kierstin Cates Kennedy, M.D., MSHA, FACP, SFHM
Chief Medical Officer
Clinical Associate Professor
UAB Hospital | UAB Medicine
Antonio Di Stasi, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Bone Marrow
Transplantation and Cell Therapy Program Unit
UAB Heersink School of Medicine
Division of Hematology and Oncology