February’s Minority Health Conference to focus on translational research
January 17, 2012 | |
The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Minority Student Caucus (MSC) will host its 33rd annual Minority Health Conference on Friday, Feb. 24, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill, N.C. Early registration discounts end Friday, Jan. 20. The theme for this year’s conference, “Translational Research: The Road from Efficacy to Equity,” highlights the importance of translating scientific discoveries into effective strategies and policies to eliminate health disparities, says conference co-director Kea Turner, a master’s student in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education. “This year’s conference will bring together researchers and practitioners from a variety of disciplines such as education, journalism, law, art and religious studies to offer diverse experiences and perspectives on making research findings more applicable and accessible to minority communities,” she said.
Turquoise E. Griffith, also a master’s student in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, is the other conference co-director.
“The MSC is honored to continue the tradition of hosting the Minority Health Conference – which is considered the oldest and largest student-led health conference in the nation,” Griffith said. “Each year, the Minority Health Conference brings together faculty, community leaders, students and public health professionals from a variety of disciplines, all with a single goal in mind – to eliminate health disparities.”
The conference’s 14th annual William T. Small Jr. Keynote Lecture will be delivered by Ana V. Diez-Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, professor of epidemiology and director of University of Michigan’s Center for Integrative Approaches to Health Disparities and Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health. Diez-Roux will speak at 9:30 a.m.A second keynote will be presented at 1:15 p.m. by Nina Wallerstein, DrPH, MPH, professor in The University of New Mexico’s Department of Family and Community Medicine and director of UNM’s Center for Participatory Research.
The morning lecture will be broadcast on the Internet from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a live Q-and-A session. A number of other universities simultaneously holding minority health events will broadcast the William Small Jr. Lecture on their campuses, These partners include The University of California at Los Angeles, George Washington University and The University of Illinois at Chicago. Morning and afternoon lectures will be followed by a series of poster exhibitions, small-group sessions and panel discussions. Among the topics to be addressed are:
First initiated by the UNC Minority Student Caucus in 1977, the conference was developed to highlight health issues of concern to people of color and to attract students interested in minority concerns to public health. The event regularly attracts about 500 students, faculty members, researchers, public health and human services professionals, and community leaders from North Carolina and surrounding states, with many throughout the country viewing the keynote lecture by webcast or on DVD. Early registration is encouraged.For more information about the conference, visit http://studentorgs.unc.edu/msc. Registration also is available online.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
|