On February 29, 2024, Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) at Purdue University hosted its third-annual Health Equity Summit. The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) partnered with HEI to host the event, which featured keynote speaker Francis Collins, MD, PhD. Collins served as the director of the National Institutes of Health from 2009 to 2021.
The summit, which was attended by over 350 people from across Indiana, also functioned as Purdue’s campus retreat for the Indiana CTSI. Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, FASA, who is Executive Director for HEI, said the event was “an amazing opportunity” for partners from across Indiana to learn and strategize about how to promote health equity.
“I’m excited about the partnerships and projects that are sure to come out of this convening,” he said.
The event kicked off with remarks by Adams, followed by a “fireside chat” between Adams and Collins. During their conversation, Collins spoke about the urgency and importance of diversity in clinical trials, and reflected on the challenges and successes of this imperative during “Operation Warp Speed,” the effort to bring COVID vaccines to the public.
The first panel discussion of the day, “Ongoing Health Equity Research for Positive Transformations,” was moderated by Indiana CTSI co-director Sarah Wiehe, MD, MPH. It featured presentations by Assistant Professor of Public Health and Biomedical Engineering Natalia Rodriguez, PhD, MPH, of Purdue; Indiana CTIS Chief Diversity Officer Sylk Sotto, EdD, MBA, MPS, of Indiana University School of Medicine; and Mary Wachira, MGA, Program Director of the University of Notre Dame’s Health Equity Data Lab.
“I am so grateful to be a part of this all-women scientist panel!” Sotto remarked during her presentation.
Yesterday, @HEI_Purdue and the Indiana CTSI teamed up for a successful Health Equity Summit and Campus Retreat! We captured this powerful moment after the "Ongoing Health Equity Research for Positive Transformations" panel, moderated by Indiana CTSI co-director Dr. Sarah Wiehe. pic.twitter.com/8wQykbclmw
— Indiana CTSI (@IndianaCTSI) March 1, 2024
During the rest of the afternoon, attendees listened to experts discuss additional health equity topics, including Hepatitis C in rural Indiana and the importance of community-engaged research.
After the event, Wachira noted that many speakers throughout the day spoke of their commitment to interdisciplinary engagement and trust-building, demonstrating an opportunity to make health accessible for all.
“The summit was an invitation to learn, connect, and reflect on health equity focused work taking place in the state,” she said.
Poster session a “tremendous success”
The Indiana CTSI also hosted a poster competition in conjunction with the event. Faculty, students, and staff from all the Indiana CTSI’s partner institutions were invited to submit posters showcasing their work on health equity topics.
Tommy Sors, PhD, Purdue campus co-navigator for the Indiana CTSI, said there were 38 posters in the competition, as well as eleven judges, who represented the Indiana CTSI’s navigators from all campuses, program managers and faculty.
“The poster competition was a tremendous success,” he said.
The winning poster was “Spanish-Language Resource Readability on Ophthalmology Websites” by Devon Hori Harvey, MD.
Dr. Devon Hori Harvey
“It was a privilege to be recognized for my research, which identified some of the challenges our Spanish-speaking patients face when they are in need of adequate eye care,” he said.
Harvey is a Postdoctoral Ophthalmology Research Fellow at Indiana University School of Medicine’s Glick Eye Institute.
Luke Brennan, a student in Biomedical Engineering and Public Health at Purdue, earned second place for his poster, “HPV 16 DNA Detection from Endocervical Cells with Simple Visual Readout.”
To view more details about the Health Equity Summit, view the registration page and the full agenda. Additionally, HEI is on Twitter @HEI_Purdue.
