2024 IIMS Community Engagement Symposium

Join us for a day filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and community building. 

Plenary Speaking Team:

Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, MD, PhD
Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine
Founder and Director, Center for Reducing Health Disparities
Director, Community Engagement Program -
Clinical and Translational Sciences Center at UC Davis Health

Debra Oto-Kent, MPH
Founder, Executive Director,
Health Education Council

Topic: Building Trust and Amplifying Voices to Advance the Science of Community Engagement for Health

Scientific translation describes the process of taking research discoveries from basic lab science, to clinical practice, and into community interventions for public health benefit.

Community engagement (CE) is important for the translation of research findings. Not only is it important for identifying priority health topics for the community, but it is also a visual for increasing the reach, effectiveness, and adoption of findings.

This symposium will address how community-campus partnerships (between a community group and researchers) can build trust and work together to successfully conduct health research that matters to the community.

Goals

Our goal is to engage the community, faculty, and students in conversations about health research, building capacity for community-campus partnerships, showcasing current projects and fostering future collaborations. 

To achieve this, the CE Symposium will support the following aims:

1. Providing platforms and resources for sharing diverse community perspectives, experiences and priorities.

2. Fostering trust-building, leading with cultural humility and facilitating active community participation for sustainable and meaningful partnerships.

3. Prioritizing equity and inclusivity to ensure that all partners have an equal voice in decision-making processes.

4. Sharing information and disseminating findings for empowering communities.