The UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center will host its inaugural symposium, “Advancing the Science of Community-Engaged Research to Prevent Chronic Disease and Improve Health,” on Wednesday, April 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Marnix E. Heersink Conference Center. The event brings together researchers, clinicians, public health leaders, and community partners, reflecting the center’s mission to strengthen research that connects scientific discovery with the real-world needs of communities.
As a university-wide interdisciplinary research center at UAB, the Healthy Living Center provides infrastructure, expertise, and collaborative support for investigators focused on disease prevention and health improvement. And, as the center’s first symposium, the event marks an important step in advancing community-engaged and population health research that connects investigators, health leaders, and communities in shared efforts to improve health outcomes.
Remarks
The inaugural symposium will feature remarks throughout the program from Ray L. Watts, president of UAB; Anupam Agarwal, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine; and Mona N. Fouad, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Healthy Living Research Center, who will present an overview of the center’s work and its vision for advancing chronic disease prevention through research.
Keynote Address
Admiral Brian Christine, M.D.The symposium’s keynote address will be delivered by Admiral Brian Christine, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this national role, Christine leads federal public health priorities and oversees the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the country’s eight uniformed services, composed of more than 5,000 public health professionals dedicated to protecting and advancing the nation’s health. His work focuses on strengthening public health institutions, restoring trust, and addressing the nation’s most pressing health challenges.
Panelists
Guest Panelists
George Mensah, M.D.
The program will also feature perspectives from national and state leaders in public health and research. Guest panelists include George Mensah, M.D., director of the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, whose work focuses on translating scientific discoveries into real-world strategies that improve population health. Also joining the program is Scott Harris, M.D., M.P.H., Alabama’s State Health Officer, who leads the Alabama Department of Public Health and has played a key role in guiding statewide public health initiatives.
Additionally, the symposium will feature a two-part panel 
Scott Harris, M.D., M.P.H.
discussion on community-engaged research in action and what comes next for the field, highlighting collaborations between researchers, health leaders, and community partners working to improve health outcomes.
Faculty Panelists and Community Perspective
Faculty panelists include Maria Pisu, Ph.D., principal investigator of the Cancer Awareness, Research, Engagement & Support (CARES) Center and professor in the UAB Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science; Lori B. Bateman, Ph.D., principal investigator for Alabama CEAL and associate professor in the UAB Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science; and Teresa Shufflebarger, MSHA, MBA, FACHE, chief administrative officer for Live HealthSmart Alabama at UAB.
Community perspectives will be represented by TJ Smith, project manager for City Blocks Wellness Center.
The panel discussions will be moderated by Irfan Asif, M.D., associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health, chair of the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine, and co-director of the UAB Comprehensive Healthy Living Research Center; Raegan Durant, M.D., professor of medicine in the UAB Division of General Internal Medicine and Population Science; Chris Brown, Ph.D., Vice President for Research at UAB; and Mona Fouad, M.D., MPH.
A full agenda for the symposium is available online.
The event is free to attend, but registration is required and will be limited to the first 200 registrants. Lunch will be provided for attendees.