Power in Partnerships: Communities Shaping Research and Change is a full-day, community-led gathering that brings community knowledge and university research together. Hosted by the UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center in collaboration with the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the forum features community partners, leaders, researchers, and health professionals sharing insights, experiences, and approaches for strengthening partnerships and advancing community health.
The program will include a Community Partners Showcase, interactive CCTS ACTion Learning focused on peer-driven problem solving, a keynote address by George Mensah, M.D., an introduction to the Community Science Commons, and hands-on plenary sessions.
Mark your calendar
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- Date: Thursday, November 12, 2026
- Time: 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM CST
- Location:UAB Marnix E. Heersink Conference Center
Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine & Data Sciences Building
701 19th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35233
Schedule at a Glance
A full agenda is available below with key sessions and speakers highlighted.
7:30 AM — Registration & Breakfast
8:30 AM — Welcome from UAB Leadership
8:45 AM — Partnership in Action: The UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center
9:00 AM — Panel Discussion - Energizing Your Community & Making Funding Work
10:00 AM — Break
10:10 AM — CCTS Introduction
10:15 AM — Community Science Commons Overview
10:30 AM — ACTion Learning Partnership and Practice: A Seat at the Table
11:30 AM — Research Support Spotlight: P3 EQUATE
11:40 AM — Lunch
12:10 PM — Introduction of Keynote Speaker
12:15 PM — Keynote Address - Charting the Research Agenda Together: Community Voice at the Foundation
1:10 PM — Panel Discussion - Nothing About Us Without Us: Community Partners at the Center of Research
2:00 PM — Break
2:10 PM — Plenary Workshop: Practical and Appropriate Use of AI
3:20 PM — From Partnership to Action
3:30 PM — Adjourn
3:30 - 4:30 PM — UAB Live HealthSmart Alabama Mobile Market and Mobile Wellness
Featuring Keynote Speaker:
George Mensah, M.D.
Dr. George Mensah is a clinician-scientist who currently serves as the Director of the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this role, Dr. Mensah leads an NHLBI-wide effort to advance late-stage translational research and implementation science to address gaps in the prevention, treatment, and control of heart, lung, and blood diseases and the elimination of related health disparities.
His goal is to maximize the population health impact of advances made in fundamental discovery science and pre-clinical or early-stage translational research. An important part of this effort is his support for meaningful community-engaged research and implementation science to advance equitable access and quality care, especially in underserved communities.
Dr. Mensah is an honors graduate of Harvard University. He obtained his medical degree from Washington University and trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at Cornell. His professional experience includes nearly 30 years of public health service between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the NIH.
In addition to his public service, Dr. Mensah had 15 years of experience in direct patient care, teaching, and research at Cornell, Vanderbilt, and the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). He was a full professor with tenure at MCG and is currently a Visiting Full Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Dr. Mensah has been admitted to fellowships in several national and international societies including the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and the European Society of Cardiology. He is an Honorary Fellow of the College of Physicians of South Africa. He maintains active collaboration with several international groups to advance research on the global burden of diseases and risk factors.