Latino-focused research symposium collaborates with community and policy makers

CTSI co-sponsored the UCLA Los Angeles Latino Health Symposium held on May 23, 2019 at the California Endowment. The event, organized by CTSI’s Integrating Special Populations (ISP) program, brought together scientists, community leadership and policymakers to explore collective approaches to improve the health status of Latinos in greater Los Angeles and forge new collaborations to help frame the future of Latino-focused research.

Presentations from the event are now available here.

The program featured opening remarks by Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and a keynote by Dr. Anna María Nápoles, scientific director of the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). The day-long symposium also included a networking breakfast and lunch and two panels of distinguished speakers including: David E. Hayes-Bautista (UCLA), Cástulo de la Rocha (AltaMed Health Services), Roshan Bastani (UCLA), Laura Trejo (City of Los Angeles Department of Aging), Gerardo Moreno (UCLA), Rashmi Shetgiri (Los Angeles County Department of Public Health), and Steven Wallace (UCLA). For a complete list of presenters, see the program.

Of the 85 participants, 90% reported that they were very satisfied or satisfied with the symposium overall, and 92% made one or more new connections with someone they had never met before. 90% of attendees were very likely or likely to recommend a future symposium to their department or colleagues.

Visit the Symposium webpage for more information on the event. Questions regarding the UCLA Los Angeles Latino Health Symposium may be directed to Miguel Cuevas and Nathalie Vizueta at specialpop@mednet.ucla.edu.

The Integrating Special Populations Program focuses on three special groups: children, older adults and populations impacted by health disparities. The aim is to integrate special populations into the research enterprise of the UCLA CTSI to ensure that breakthroughs are quickly translated to the benefit of society and its subpopulations.

Image source: UCLA

Image caption: At top: (from left) Cástulo de la Rocha (AltaMed Health Services), Laura Trejo (City of Los Angeles Department of Aging), Roshan Bastani (UCLA) and David E. Hayes-Bautista (UCLA).

At bottom: Participants had the opportunity to present questions during two panel discussions.