College of Medicine celebrates annual Diversity Week in person
The college community, along with local and national leaders, discussed successes and opportunities
April 13, 2022— During the UF College of Medicine’s annual Celebration of Diversity Week, faculty, students, staff and community members gathered to acknowledge the strides the college has made toward greater diversity, equity and inclusion, and to hold discussions about how the college can improve.
“We are happy that after two years we were able to be face-to-face again,” said Donna Parker, M.D., associate dean for diversity and health equity. “As in past years, I hope students, residents, staff, faculty and leaders came away from these events with excitement and ideas about how we can advocate to improve the health of our communities.”
Here are some event highlights:
Photos by Giuliano DePortu, M.D.
Audience members view a presentation from Philip Alberti, Ph.D., of the AAMC during Celebration of Diversity Week.
Photo by Emily Mavrakis
AAMC’s Philip Alberti, Ph.D., speaks at Dean’s Grand Rounds
Celebration of Diversity Week launched with the Dean’s Grand Rounds event, featuring a presentation from guest speaker Philip Alberti, Ph.D., founding director of the Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, Center for Health Justice and senior director of health equity research and policy.
During Alberti’s presentation on centering community engagement to achieve health equity, he discussed the idea that health equity is the goal, and health justice is the path.
“Health equity represents a state in which all communities have equal access to the resources and care needed,” he said. “Everyone is at the same starting point. Health justice includes many components in health care and beyond, including social determinants of health. The same factors that influence your access to education, to housing, to employment and beyond influence your health outcomes.”
First-generation college students share their experiences during a panel as part of the UF College of Medicine's Celebration of Diversity Week.
Photo be Jesse S. Jones
First-generation medical professionals share their perspectives
Navigating a graduate and professional program can be daunting, especially as a first-generation college student. During a panel discussion with first-generation College of Medicine students and a resident, participants shared their reasons for pursuing higher education and careers in medicine, the role mentors have played in their journeys, and how to balance commitments and advice with undergraduate students on the pre-health track who might soon be in their shoes.
Panelists included fourth-year medical students Gabrielle Aiello and Jonathan Arias, second-year medical student Angela Arata, second-year PA student Jessica Murray, biomedical sciences graduate student Bryan Alava and anesthesiology resident Andrew Tucker, D.O.
Arias said believing in his abilities made it possible for him to pursue a career in orthopaedic surgery. He will begin his residency at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville this summer.
“I always had this fire within me that I think we all have,” he said. “It’s easy for that to be quenched, but if you believe in yourself, you can go a long way.”
Marina Sirota, Ph.D.
Photo by W. Charles Poulton
AI4ALL: Encouraging the next generation of scientists
Guest speaker Marina Sirota, Ph.D., an associate professor at Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed an initiative that she co-directs at UCSF called AI4ALL, a program that aims to introduce high school students to application of artificial intelligence concepts to biomedicine and inspire the next generation of AI researchers.
The group comprise high school students who are from underrepresented backgrounds in AI research, and they gain knowledge about machine learning and coding, hear guest lectures from leading experts and get involved in real world research projects led by UCSF graduate students.
“We’ve been using different types of data ranging from clinical, molecular, imaging and demographic to teach the next generation of researchers how to ask and answer questions with AI,” Sirota said. “It’s incredibly inspiring to see what the students can learn in such a short period of time – listening to the final presentations from these students, you would not even believe they were still in high school.”
Panelists discuss how to better address the LGBTQIA+ community in health care
Health providers who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community spoke to the academic health center community about their experiences as providers and patients, as well as their thoughts on how providers can become more educated about how to make all patients feel welcome in health care spaces.
“Even having a sticker or lapel pin that indicates your pronouns is already a big step in signaling to patients that we are open, we are there for them, we recognize them as they are and we’re creating a safe space,” said Corey Richardson, PA ’92, DHSc, the CEO and clinical director of Integrated Care of Greater Hickory Inc., in North Carolina. “No matter if you are an LGBTQIA+ member or if you are an ally, that’s a tremendously important thing that we can all do to provide that open space to them.”
Other panelists at the event, organized by the UF Health Science Center Libraries, included Oliver Grundmann, Ph.D., the director and faculty adviser for the online master’s and graduate certificate programs in pharmaceutical chemistry and clinical toxicology at the UF College of Pharmacy; Joanna “Joey” Conner, a licensed clinical social worker at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and Kate Hitchcock, M.D., Ph.D., a retired U.S. Navy aircraft carrier driver and assistant professor of radiation oncology at UF.
Mary Foster, a retired human services counselor with a specialty in children’s mental health, speaks as part of a community panel during Celebration of Diversity Week
Photo by W. Charles Poulton
Community leaders share hopes for future college collaborations
During a discussion featuring community leaders and advocates, panelists shared their thoughts on what the college and UF Health are doing well to address equity and inclusion among the community and potential collaborations in the future that can drive greater progress.
“Get to know the community where you will be working,” said Mary Foster, a retired human services counselor with a specialty in children’s mental health. “Speak out for those who are not able to speak out for themselves.”
Panelists also included the Rev. Karl Anderson, founder and senior pastor at Upper Room Ministries and a local entrepreneur; Larry Green, Ph.D., a licensed marriage and family therapist and LGBTQ+ community advocate; Regina Wims, a clinical social worker; Eric Davis, a social worker specializing in providing affordable homes for families experiencing homelessness; and E. Stanley Richardson, inaugural poet laureate of Alachua County, founder and director of ARTSPEAKS Gainesville and founder and director of the Alachua County-North Central Florida Youth Poet Laureate Program.
“I have been looking forward to this day all week, because it is so important that we put what we’re learning into practice with the community,” Parker said. “I look forward to collaborating with you all and getting our faculty and learners involved with the community to take action on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts throughout our city and county.”
