Feinberg students, trainees, faculty and members from partner institutions shared research on interventions and policies aimed at advancing equitable healthcare at the Office of Health Equity’s second annual Lyceum Series and Research Symposium on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Clyde W. Yancy, MD, MSc, the Magerstadt Professor and chief of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine and vice dean for Health Equity at Feinberg, welcomed attendees to this year’s research symposium.
“Our world, our society, our local communities are more interconnected now than ever before. The absence of health in any one of us affects the health of all of us. No academic medical center is better equipped to not only address, but to lead health equity science and equitable care,” said Yancy, who is also a professor of Medical Social Sciences in the Division of Determinants of Health.
The keynote lecture was delivered by Leslie R. Walker, MD, the Ford/Morgan Endowed Chair of the department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and chief academic officer and senior vice president at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Walker discussed promoting adolescent health and advancing health for all pediatrics patients by addressing and changing the systems currently in place to improve health outcomes.
“For me, this time is very hopeful in a different way because I don’t believe the system ever worked well to end health inequities, so we have the chance to build it back in a different way,” Walker said. “Thinking about how we can do things completely differently is what we need, not trying to get back what we had… it’s a watershed moment to see the opportunity that we didn’t have before to really change things.”
Walker also participated in several additional engagements, including an early-career faculty pediatrics workshop, a mentoring breakfast for students interested in pediatrics, and a grand rounds session with trainees at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, further strengthening the partnership and advancing conversations around pediatric health.
Following the lecture, attendees explored more than 70 research poster presentations throughout the Potocsnak Family Atrium in the Robert H. Lurie Research Center.
Ren Mondesir, a fourth-year medical student, presented her research exploring disparities in opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations and length of stay in youth with complex medical conditions.
By analyzing a database comprising ED and inpatient encounters from 48 different children’s hospitals, Mondesir found that youth with sickle cell disease have the highest risk of opioid-related ED visits, but a shorter length of stay after hospitalization compared to other patient groups. She also found that patients with cancer and organ transplants also showed elevated risk of opioid-related ED visits.
“This highlights longstanding inequities in care for sickle cell disease, disproportionately impacting Black youth,” said Mondesir, who won the John E. Franklin Innovation Award for her research. “Racial disparities underscore recognized systemic barriers to equitable pain management.”
For her research, Sreeya Kairamkonda, a first-year medical student at Rush Medical College, conducted a literature review investigating human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates in youth and adolescents in New Mexico. As part of this work, Kairamkonda also conducted interviews with community and professional experts for recommendations on how to increase HPV vaccination rates among young adults.
“One of the suggestions they had was framing HPV vacccination as cancer prevention instead of STI prevention because there’s a lot of stigma regarding STIs, specifically in this population which was primarily Hispanic and immigrants,” Kairamkonda said. “When providers frame it as cancer prevention, people are more receptive to getting it, especially for their kids.”
Andrés Alvarado Avila, a student in Feinberg’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program, presented his research in which he performed a scoping review on single-session interventions — a single visit or encounter with a clinic, healthcare professional or program — for Latino adolescent youth.
From his analysis, he found that single-session interventions are effective in addressing mental health disorders as well as substance use in Latino adolescent youth. He noted, however, that these interventions must be adapted to increase their effectiveness for this patient population.
“There’s a lot of potential for these single-session interventions to address mental health disparities in Latinos, but there’s also a lot of potential for us to do better in terms of adapting them and using community-driven approaches to make sure that these interventions fit the needs of this population,” Alvarado Avila said.
Poster Session Award Winners
Recipients were recognized for their leadership in advancing equitable care in pediatrics as part of the symposium’s collaboration with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. Valeria Cohran, MD, professor of Pediatrics and associate chair of Health Equity at Lurie Children’s, and Susanna McColley, ‘85 MD, professor of Pediatrics and scientific director for Interdisciplinary Research Partnerships, presented the awards.
- John E. Franklin Innovation Award: Ren Mondesir
- Health Equity Excellence Award: Natalia Philpott, MD
- Melissa A. Simon Champion Award: Yessenia Castron-Caballero, MD
The John E. Franklin Innovation Award – Student Recognition
This award honors students who are forging new pathways through advocacy, research or service, creating opportunities that advance medicine for all patients in the broader community. Named in honor of John E. Franklin, MD, MSc, MA, this award celebrates the next generation of leaders.
The Health Equity Excellence Award – Resident/Fellow Recognition
Celebrating residents and fellows at the forefront of innovative projects, research or initiatives that advance fairness, access, and representation in healthcare and medical training.
The Melissa A. Simon Champion Award – Faculty Recognition
Named in honor of Melissa Simon, MD, MPH, a nationally recognized physician, investigator and health equity leader, this award celebrates transformative leadership that demonstrates what is possible through equity-driven leadership.
