The Hispanic Alliance for Clinical and Translational Research (The Alliance) held its 12th Scientific Day on May 3rd, 2023. The theme for the plenary session was “Population Health After Disasters: Responses from the Scientific Community”. The activity was organized by the Professional Development Core. Since 2019, The Alliance’s Scientific Day is one of the main events that is offered during the Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Week, this year held from May 1st to 7th, 2023.
Plenary Session
Plenary session’s speakers showcased responses to disasters and community actions spearheaded by the clinical and translational research and academic communities in Puerto Rico.
-
- Dr. Edna Acosta and Dr. Marizaida Sánchez presenting: Implementation Science as a Tool to Promote Health Equity
-
- Dr. Laura Domenech, Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU) presenting: Our Communities in Time of Disaster
-
- Dr. David E. Rivera, Universidad Central del Caribe (UCC), presenting: Rapid Response for COVID -19 Pandemic: A School-Based Vaccination Clinic Model Developed by Medical Students from UCC
-
- Dr. Carmen Buxó, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus (UPR-MSC), presenting: Epigenetic and Microbial Profiles Related to Hurricane Maria Prenatal Stressors: Project HELiOS
-
- Ms. Cesia Negrón, UPR-MSC, presenting: The Role of “Brigadas Salubristas” in the Community Response to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies
-
- 12th Scientific Day presenters
Attending the activities were 135 in-person and 16 attendees through the Zoom platform. Services of Spanish to English translation and sign language interpretation were provided.
Dr. Stephanie Dorta from the UPR-MSC, shared the results of her Pilot Project titled “Interplay between microbial and immune cells in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer
The event continued with the presentation of Dr. Stephanie Dorta from the UPR-MSC, who shared the results of her Pilot Project titled “Interplay between microbial and immune cells in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer”.
Additionally, a total of 45 peer reviewed posters were presented, representing diverse research areas – Basic, Behavioral, Clinical, Public Health – as well as diverse institutions (academic, government, healthcare) in Puerto Rico and the US.
Awards
As part of the Scientific Day, The Alliance recognized the following professionals and researchers with the following awards:
Mock study section
Three concurrent sessions were held during the afternoon. The Professional Development Core (PDC) hosted a “Mock Study Section” that aimed to simulate a real NIH Study Section in which a certain number of grants (i.e., R, K or F applications) were reviewed and discussed. This activity targeted early-stage investigators and junior faculty who were interested in writing career development (F, K) and R01 grants and had previously participated in the grant writing courses or were part of the Pilot Projects program. Acting as reviewers were: Dr. Valerie Wojna, UPR-MSC; Dr. Michelle Martínez, UCC; Dr. Marian Sepúlveda, PHSU; Dr. Marcos Ramos, PHSU; Dr. Evangelia Morou, UPR-MSC; Dr. Filipa Godoy, UPR-MSC and acting as SRO Dr. Omar Khan, Chair of The Alliance Advisory Committee and as Chair Dr. Harold Saavedra, PHSU. Dr. Margarita Irizarry-Ramírez, PDC leader, organized this activity, in collaboration with the study section acting chair. The Community Engagement and Outreach (CoE) Core hosted a workshop titled “Trauma related to disasters: What should we do immediately after and later the disaster to minimize the consequences of the traumatic experience?” that was presented by Dr. Ibis Carrion from UCC.
Mining large datasets for research
The Biomedical Informatics, Bioinformatics and Cyberinfrastructure Enhancement Core (BiBEC) hosted a workshop titled “Mining Large Datasets for Research: TriNetX, Hispanic Collaborative Clinical Research Data Warehouse, and the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C)” with Dr. Mary H. Mays, BiBEC leader as Chair and presented by: Erin M. Hammond MSc. (TriNetX LLC), Pedro J. Castro, Ph.D. (SUNY, Syracuse) and Michael Mendis, BS (Partners Healthcare System, Inc.).
