2022 Fellows’ Symposium Focuses on Health Disparities and Environmental Justice
, by Justine E. Yu, Ph.D.
In April 2022, DCEG fellows gathered virtually for the 14th Annual DCEG Fellows Symposium. The theme was “Closing the Gap on Health Disparities and Promoting Environmental Justice: From innovative research to action.” Over 75 fellows attended the event.
A distinguished panel of scientists and leaders facilitated the discussion, including Dr. Scott Weichenthal, Associate Professor of McGill University, Dr. Cavin Ward-Caviness, Principal Investigator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Leticia Nogueira, Senior Principal Scientist at the American Cancer Society and former DCEG fellow, and Dr. Jon Samet, Dean and Professor in the Colorado School of Public Health. The speakers explored topics including novel approaches to population-based exposure assessments, how epigenetics molecularly encodes health disparities, the relation of climate change and cancer as well as the link between the environment and disease.
The panel discussion, led by Katelyn Connelly, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Translational Genomics, and Rena Jones, Ph.D., M.S., tenure-track investigator in the Occupation and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, was an engaging dialogue between the attendees and the invited speakers. The panelists discussed their experiences and perspectives on actionable science and advocacy with respect to environmental justice.
The organizing committee for the symposium included Carolyn H. Brandt, B.S., Camryn Cohen, B.S., Dr. Connelly, Jacob L. Edelson, M.S., Joshua R. Freeman, Ph.D., M.P.H., Phuc Hoang, Ph.D., and Richard Remigio, Ph.D., M.S., M.Phil. The DCEG Office of Education, including Jackie Lavigne, Ph.D., M.P.H., Diane Wigfield, and Cara Murray, supported and advised the organizing committee.
