19th Annual UCSF Health Equity and Anti-Racism Research Symposium
UCSF Health Equity and Anti-Racism Research (HEAR) Symposium 2026
- Wednesday, October 14, 2026
- 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
- Mission Bay Conference Center | 1675 Owens Street
- Registration and attendance is free.
The annual UCSF Health Equity and Anti-Racism Research (HEAR) Symposium showcases research and action to advance health equity. The goal of the symposium is to build community among researchers across disciplines and across units, schools and campus sites and the wider Bay Area. The 2026 HEAR Symposium is thrilled to announce Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH, as this year’s keynote speaker.
UCSF endeavors to create greater understanding and supports the exchange of diverse ideas. The views and opinions of guest speakers on campus are their own and may not reflect the perspective of the University
Accessibility
UCSF welcomes all participants to our events. If you need to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in our event due to a disability, please contact Brooks Bigart by emailing [email protected] as soon as possible.
Translation
HEAR Symposium will offer AI-enabled live translation in 30 languages this year using Wordly – smartphone/tablet required. For translation details, please contact [email protected].
| Time | Program | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am - 8:30 am | Symposium Breakfast and Registration | |
| 8:30 am - 8:35 am | Welcome | Renée Navarro, MD, PharmD, Vice Chancellor, Opportunity and Outreach |
| 8:35 am - 8:40 am | Opening Remarks | S. Andrew Josephson, MD, Dean, School of Medicine |
| 8:40 am - 8:45 am | Symposium Introduction | Tung Nguyen, MD, Associate Vice Chancellor, Research Opportunity and Impact |
| 8:45 am - 9:35 am | Plenary Presentations Session 1 with Q&A | Discussant: Ifeyinwa Asiodu, PhD, RN, IBCLC, FAAN |
| 8:45 am - 8:55 am | Characteristics of Medicaid Reentry Waiver Enrollees and their Healthcare Utilization After Release from San Francisco Jail | Karthik Rohatgi, MD and Katherine Miclau, BA |
| 8:55 am - 9:05 am | The Cultural Domain of Recovery Capital Among Emerging Adults with Prior Court Involvement | Eduardo Guzman and Akemi Mii, PhD |
| 9:05 am - 9:15 am | Examining the Relationship Between Perceived Everyday Discrimination and Self-Reported Health among Californians Experiencing Homelessness | Natrina L. Johnson, PhD |
| 9:15 am - 9:25 am | Cost-effectiveness of a contingency management intervention among people experiencing homelessness: analysis from a pilot randomized, clinical trial | Dian Gu, PhD |
| 9:25 am - 9:35 am | Session 1 Discussion and Q&A | Ifeyinwa Asiodu, PhD, RN, FAAN |
| 9:35 am - 10:15 am | Poster Session 1 | |
| 10:15 am - 11:05 am | Plenary Presentations Session 2 with Q&A | Discussant: Sharon Youmans, PharmD, MPH |
| 10:16 – 10:26 am | Pediatric Access through Resource Linkage (PEARL): Increasing SDoH Resource Connection for High-Risk Families in an Ambulatory Pediatric Surgery Setting | Alondra Aguilar |
| 10:26 am - 10:36 am | Patient and Health-System Factors Associated with Scheduling and Completion of Outpatient Physical Therapy Referral | Sang (Sam) Pak, PT, DPT, ACHIP |
| 10:36 am – 10:46 am | School-based programs may enhance equitable access to evidence-based ADHD treatment for families from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds: evidence from four trials | Joshua Langfus, PhD |
| 10:46 am – 10:56 am | Mental Health Disparities at the Intersection of Racial and Sexual-Gender Minority Identity Using the All of Us Research Program | Joya Terdiman |
| 10:56 am – 11:06 am | Plenary Session 2 Q&A | Sharon Youmans, PharmD, MPH |
| 11:06 am - 12:05 pm | Keynote Address | Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH, Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Co-Director of the Clinical and Translational Science Cancer Institute, University of Miami |
| 12:05 pm - 12:45 pm | Poster Session 2 | |
| 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm | Symposium Lunch | |
| 1:15 pm - 1:55 pm | Poster Session 3 | |
| 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm | Plenary Presentations Session 3 with Q&A | Discussant: Jonathan Butler, PhD |
| 2:01 pm - 2:11 pm | It’s never too late to learn: Community-informed strategies to encourage acceptance and uptake of non-monetary educational incentives for research participation | Barbara Green-Ajufo, DrPH, MPH |
| 2:11 pm - 2:21 pm | Gender expression and sexual identity disclosure to health care providers among sexual minority women: An exploratory mechanistic analysis | Wint Thazin |
| 2:21 pm - 2:31 pm | Mid-pregnancy maternal leukocyte telomere length and preterm birth in a population-based Hispanic/Latina California cohort | Odessa Garay, MS |
| 2:31 pm - 2:41 pm | Association of cardiometabolic risk factors for individuals with dementia across different communities | Rochelle-Jan Reyes, MPH, BS |
| 2:41 pm – 2:51 pm | Plenary Session 3 Q&A | Jonathan Butler, PhD |
| 2:50 pm - 3:00 pm | Closing Remarks and Thank You | Vanessa Jacoby, MD, MPH, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research and Alejandra Rincón, PhD, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Opportunity and Outreach |
Keynote Speaker
Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH
Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo is the Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Miami and Co-Director of the Clinical and Translational Science Cancer Institute. He has over twenty-five years of experience leading over $125 million of NIH funded clinical and community-based health research projects in various chronic disease areas including diabetes, cancer cardiovascular disease, HIV and preventive health care services.
Dr. Carrasquillo has considerable experience directing large multi-center research projects. At present, he is MPI of the AllofUs research project and the PI of the state-wide Florida Community Engaged Alliance research program. Dr. Carrasquillo has led numerous cores for large research program project grants, often leading community and stakeholder engagement components these include the PCORNET funded OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium and UM-Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance (P50). He has been a standing member of various NIH study sections and served on various federal advisory committees. Dr. Carrasquillo serves on NHLBI Advisory Council and chair of PCORI’s Clinical Trails Advisory Committee and serves as chair of the editorial bBoard for the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Carasquillo has participated in many national and international committees as well such as the Lancet Commission on Health Policy and various National Academy of Medicine’s committees.
As a clinical leader. for 12 years Dr. Carrasquillo served as Chief of UM’s Division of General Internal Medicine, where he oversaw 52 faculty including clinicians, educators, and researchers. He continues to practice medicine in both the inpatient and outpatient settings and provides oversight of residents and students in UM clinics. Dr. Carrasquillo also serves on the Board of Directors of two local community-based organizations - The Health Council of South Florida Health Council (HCSF) and Miami-Dade Area Health Education Center (AHEC). He often works with local and national media discussing his own research and health care topics of particular relevance to the local communities.
Abstract Information
HEAR Symposium 2026 will accept abstracts until July 7, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
- Abstracts can be submitted for work that has been presented elsewhere or submitted to a journal for publication, but not for work that has already been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
- We encourage first authors at all levels from students to full professors. The first author will be the presenter if selected for a plenary presentation.
- Each person can be first author on only one submission.
- Faculty, staff, and trainees affiliated with San Francisco Bay Area health care and research institutions are eligible to submit abstracts.
- We encourage submissions that focus on health equity and anti-discrimination research. Examples include work that addresses structural and social determinants of health; interventions for health equity; and community and other stakeholder-engaged research. We will also consider submissions that report on health and healthcare disparities.
- UCSF does not use race, gender, sex, or other protected categories or proxies for protected categories in the selection process.
Structured abstracts are required and must conform to the following organization.
Non-conforming abstracts will not be reviewed.
- All required components of the abstract including the title and all authors must fit on 1-page and must be in 11-point font.
- The body of the abstract (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions) must not exceed 400 words.
- Up to 2 figures, graphs or tables are permitted as along as it fits on the 1-page limit with all other required components of the abstract.
- Please submit abstracts as PDF files. Save the PDF file name by: First Author Last name and first initial-Name of Abstract (e.g., Rivera A.-Abstract2026.pdf).
- Required components of the abstract:
- Title. No all caps, quotes, underlining or bolding.
- Authors. Please list all authors by last name and initials and academic/professional affiliation. Please indicate the academic/professional title of first author.
- Background. Describe the context and importance of the study and specify the purpose or goal of the study.
- Methods. Include a description of the methods used including setting, population, sampling techniques, measures, and analytical procedures.
- Results. A summary of results presented in sufficient detail to support the conclusions. Up to 2 tables, graphs or figures are permitted as long as the entire abstract is on one page.
- Conclusions. State the implications of the findings for clinical practice, research, education, or policy. We strongly discourage abstracts that have not yet produced results. Statements such as "The results will be discussed" or "Other data will be presented” are not acceptable.
Sponsorship
Become a sponsor of health equity research! We are committed to providing HEAR Symposium as a free event that is open to all and are thankful to our sponsors. Contact [email protected] with inquiries.
