2023 President’s Forum on Health Disparities:
Community Engagement in the Achievement of Health Equity
held virtually on April 21, 2023, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Watch a recording of the Forum
Keynote Speech
Community Engaged Research:
Pathway to Reducing Disparities
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D. is the Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), the lead organization at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for planning, coordinating, and evaluating minority health and health disparities research. NIMHD conducts and supports research programs to identify mechanisms to improve minority health and reduce health disparities and develops effective interventions in community and clinical settings. Prior to joining NIMHD in 2015, Dr. Pérez-Stable was a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Recognized as a leader in Latino health care and disparities research, Dr. Pérez-Stable spent 32 years leading research on smoking cessation and tobacco control in Latino populations in the United States and Latin America, addressing clinical and prevention issues in cancer control research, supporting early career scientists in research on minority aging in clinical and community settings, and addressing research questions in clinical conditions such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes and dementia.
Dr. Pérez-Stable has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers and was continuously funded by NIH grants for 30 years prior to becoming NIMHD Director. He was also director of the UCSF Center for Aging in Diverse Communities, which is funded by NIH’s National Institute on Aging, and director of the UCSF Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations. He has been a career mentor for many students, residents, and faculty, and a research mentor for over 70 minority investigators.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Pérez-Stable has positioned NIMHD at the forefront of the research response to COVID-19 health disparities by co-chairing NIH-wide research programs and collaborations with underserved and vulnerable communities. One such program, established to promote health equity by reducing COVID-19 associated morbidity and mortality disparities, was the Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities which provided science-based information through active community engagement and outreach with the goal of building long-lasting partnerships as well as improving diversity and inclusion in NIH’s response to COVID-19. CEAL, and other programs co-chaired by Dr. Perez-Stable, developed culturally appropriate strategies that considered the nuances of the populations and communities they serve, including their individual and family differences, all with the aim of reducing health disparities, promoting health equity, and improving population health.
Background
The President’s Forum on Health Disparities is a signature event supported by UAlbany’s prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) S21 Award, entitled “The Endowment for Community-Based Health Disparities Research and Training.” This annual event is intended to promote research on health disparities, foster engagement and collaboration, and contribute to the achievement of health equity.
The Forum provides a unique opportunity for health disparities researchers and students to share their findings, make connections and develop projects through interaction and engagement with like-minded faculty, as well as practitioners and community members. In addition the keynote speaker’s address, the forum featured an afternoon panel discussion on Community Engaged Research. The panel included both faculty researchers and community organizations.
Please contact Dr. Annis Golden, CEMHD Director, at [email protected] if you have any questions regarding this event.