UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium

Social Determinants of Health from the Global Perspective
Monday, March 19, 2018

UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium highlights the work of undergraduate, graduate, faculty, and community investigators in basic science, clinical, behavioral, social sciences research and community-based research related to health disparities. 

The 13th annual UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium will be held on Monday, March 19, 2018 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Birmingham Hotel. The symposium will take an in-depth look at the global perspectives of social determinants of health with insights from special guests from the U.K. 

This year's plenary panelists are from the Centre for Health and Development (CHAD), an innovative partnership which brings together local government, academia, and local communities to help improve the health and wellbeing of the residents of Stoke-On-Trent and Staffordshire, England. 


Judy Kurth is the director of the Centre for Health and Development at Staffordshire University. She is an experienced strategic manager with roles which have spanned local government and the National Health System over the past 25 years. As a Public Health Improvement practioner and commissioner, her specific areas of interest include health inequalities, assets-based working and community development, social determinants of health, public mental health, age-friendly communities and health literacy.


Christopher Gidlow, PhD, is the Academic Director for the Centre for Health and Development and Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Staffordshire University. His research background is in physical activity, health, and the environment. His specific areas of interest and current research activity include: physical activity promotion in primary care and the community; the role of neighborhood environments, and particularly the natural environment, in influencing our health and behavior; links between environment, stress and health; National Health System Health Checks.


Aliko Ahmed, MBBS, MSc, MSt, is the Director of Public Health England for East of England, a Senior Fellow both at Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security and the Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge. He is a Professor in Public Health, Staffordshire University.

During Professor Ahmed’s time in Staffordshire he helped to establish the Centre for Health and Development.
Currently, he oversees the development and implementation of Public Health England programs and activities in the East of England including the provision of technical advice and support to local governments and the National Health System.

His earlier global health experiences include extensive field work in infectious diseases and outbreak as a medical epidemiologist with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), advising and supporting national disease control programs in Africa, and a key role in a large global program that supported governments in low income countries to develop national mental health policies. He maintains a special interest in collaborative efforts towards sustainable health system solutions in Africa.

Highlights of the annual event include the oral presentations and poster sessions featuring original research by academic investigators, scholars, and community partners in the fields of basic science, clinical research, social and behavioral science, and community-based research. Research abstracts are being accepted through Monday, January 22nd. 

The 2018 symposium is produced by the UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) and co-sponsored by two national centers for health disparities research: Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center, led by Mona Fouad, MD, MPH, Director and Professor, Division of Preventive Medicine and Director of the UAB MHRC and the Gulf States Health Policy Center, led by Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, Founder and CEO of BayouClinic and 18th U.S. Surgeon General.

Symposium Program with Abstracts
Call for Abstracts
Agenda

2017: The Role of Social Determinants in Population Health