Highlights from First International Conference on Cancer Health Disparities

Abstract

The first International Conference on Cancer Health Disparities (ICCHD) was held on August 13-14, 2021, in Harlingen, TX, USA. This two-day ICCHD-2021 was organized by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine (UTRGV-SOM). About 200 national and international delegates from 10 countries attended this hybrid meeting in person and through online digital methods. The event delegates were representatives from NIH, CPRIT, and the City of Harlingen, in addition to clinicians, faculty, researchers, scientists, bioinformaticians, geneticists, bioethicists, and others. Abstracts were submitted through an online portal, reviewed, and accepted for inclusion in the program. Under the theme of Cancer Health Disparities, this event featured a number of special talks and showcased the work done by researchers from a broad array of disciplines (academia, community, health care) to identify gaps and/or solutions to multi-faceted heath and health disparity issues impacting minority and underserved populations across the country and worldwide. The conference was comprised of six sessions: Session 1: Introduction to the conference and tackling cancer health disparities; Session 2: Elimination of cancer health disparities; Session 3: Cancer cellular and molecular biology; Session 4: Diversity and Inclusion in cancer research: Session 5: Poster and oral presentations; Session 6: Early Career Investigator talks; and an award ceremony and closing remarks. This conference report summarizes the meeting’s content, discussions, and conclusions.