Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the 2023 Health Equity Research Symposium: Turning the Vision of Health Equity Into a Reality. We look forward to hosting you again next year.
About the 2023 Keynote Speaker
Wayne H. Giles, MD, MS
Wayne H. Giles, MD, MS, became the Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in September 2017. UIC is the only fully accredited school of public health in the state of Illinois. It has four Divisions and offers seven degrees.
Prior to joining UIC, he spent 25 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where he led the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, the Division of Population Health and the Division of Adult and Community Health. All within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. His portfolio at the CDC included running one of the organization’s most diverse divisions with programmatic and research activities in community health promotion, arthritis, aging, health care utilization, school health and racial and ethnic disparities in health.
His past work experience has included studies examining the prevalence of hypertension in Africa, clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of cholesterol-lowering agents, and studies examining racial differences in the incidence of stroke. He has over 150 publications in peer reviewed journals and has authored several book chapters. He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Charles C. Shepard Award in Assessment and Epidemiology and the Jeffrey P. Koplan Award.
Dr. Giles holds a BA in Biology from Washington University, a MS in Epidemiology from the University of Maryland, and an MD from Washington University, and has completed residencies in both Internal Medicine (University of Alabama at Birmingham) and Preventive Medicine (University of Maryland).
Professional Leadership
• Board Member, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
• Advisory Board Member, Dept of Population Science & Policy, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
• Member, Chicago Institute of Medicine
Past Symposia
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2023: Turning the Vision of Health Equity Into a Reality
April, a month that shares the UAB Health Equity Research Symposium and National Minority Health Month are both celebrated to raise awareness about the health disparities, equity, premature mortality, chronic health conditions, and more faced by racial and ethnic minority groups. The conversations had during this month not only shine a light on the important work being done to improve the health and wellness of these groups but also helps shape the policies, systems, and environments that can reduce such disparities to create health equity.
The 16th UAB Health Equity Research Symposium (HERS) was the first in person since 2019. Formerly known as the Health Disparities Research Symposium, HERS was a day-long event comprised of poster sessions, oral presentations, and a keynote speaker.In attendance as the 2023 guest of honor was Wayne Giles, M.D., M.S., Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois Chicago. Before joining UIC, Giles spent 25 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he led the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, the Division of Population Health, and the Division for Adult and Community Health—all within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
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2022: Moving from Health Disparities to Health Equity: Turning Vision Into Reality
The UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center presents the 2022 UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium. During this virtual session, speakers - Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D., MHS, and George A. Mensah, M.D. - will share insights and practical steps to achieving health equity. The discussion will be moderated by
18th U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, M.D.
Read the recap and watch the full recording here. -
2021: Canceled due to COVID-19
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2020: Obesity, the Common Denominator in Chronic Illness
Because of the ongoing situation with COVID-19, 2020's UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium has been cancelled.
- 2019: Addressing Health Disparities through Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes
- 2018: Social Determinants from the Global Perspective
- 2017: The Role of Social Determinants in Population Health
- 2016: The Science of Health Disparities: From Discovery to Delivery
- 2015: From Social Causes to Personalized Medicine
- 2014: Integrating Social and Biological Factors in Health Disparities Research
- 2013: Health Disparities: Where Biology, Behavior, and Socioeconomics Converge
- 2012: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities
- 2011: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities
- 2010: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities
- 2009: Health Disparities and Genomics
- 2008: Health Disparities: From Discovery to Delivery
- 2007: Health Disparities: From Discovery to Delivery
- 2006: Eliminating Health Disparities: Obesity & Diabetes
- 2005: Minority Research Day
