The University of Rochester and University at Buffalo will bring researchers, health care workers and community leaders together Friday, Oct. 9, for a conference on health inequities across western New York. The in-person event in Buffalo is full, but its noon keynote will be available online, organizers said.
The symposium, called “Bridging the Gaps: Advancing Health Equity in Western New York,” will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center, 875 Ellicott St. The University of Rochester’s Center for Community Health & Prevention is a co-host.
Edith Williams, director of the Rochester center, said the institutions organized the meeting because health challenges do not stop at city or county lines. She said they hope to build partnerships that can support research and action across the region.
Sessions are planned on maternal and reproductive health, mobile health and rural health. Organizers also listed panel discussions, poster presentations and a networking session focused on turning research into health policy and practice.
Leonard Egede, a University at Buffalo medical professor and president and CEO of UBMD Internal Medicine, is scheduled to give the keynote at noon. The release said the keynote can be watched by Zoom, but the venue has reached capacity for in-person attendance. It did not provide an untracked public registration page for the online session.
Heather Gardiner, a UB family medicine professor, said research and intervention efforts have often been separated by city or institution. The organizers hope the meeting will lead to a continuing regional network rather than a one-day discussion.
Williams said the next symposium is expected to be in Rochester in 2027, with the two cities alternating as hosts. Organizers did not announce a date or venue for that meeting.
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