Anti-Discrimination in Surgery
Virtual Conference 2021
MAY 4 & 8, 2021
VIRTUAL EVENT
The Speakers
Keynote Address
Oluwadamilola "Lola" Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS
"Lifting All Boats: Eliminating Disparities among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them"
Dr. Fayanju is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Population Health Sciences in the Duke University School of Medicine and Director of the Durham VA Breast Clinic. She is also Associate Director for Disparities & Value in Healthcare with Duke Forge, Duke University’s center for actionable data science. She is the incoming Chief of Breast Surgery for the University of Pennsylvania Health System and the Helen O. Dickens Presidential Associate Professor of Surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She will also be the Surgical Director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center and an Innovation Faculty member at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) in the Abramson Cancer Center. She was recently recognized by the National Academy of Medicine as an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine Scholar. Her NIH-funded research has 3 areas of focus: (1) addressing disparities in breast cancer presentation, treatment, outcome, and clinical trial participation; (2) improving prognostication and treatment for biologically aggressive variants of breast cancer that are often more common among racial and ethnic minorities; and (3) creating value in oncologic care, especially through the collection and application of patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
Concurrent Sessions
Session 01
Jaya Aysola, MD, DTMH, MPH
"Understanding and Achieving Health Equity: From Concepts to Strategic Interventions"
Dr. Aysola is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and the Assistant Dean of Inclusion and Diversity at the Perelman School of Medicine. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Penn Medicine Center for Health Equity Advancement (CHEA), where she leads the charge to improve equity and inclusion within the health system and affiliated health science schools, through research, education, community engagement, and service delivery. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating patient-, provider-, and system-level interventions to improve care outcomes for marginalized populations and stems from her clinical, administrative, and policy experiences in resource poor settings. Prior to coming to Penn, she completed her Masters of Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, through the Commonwealth Fund Harvard University Minority Health Policy Fellowship followed by a two-year general medicine research fellowship at the Department of Health Care Policy. Prior to her time in Boston, she was the Medical Director of the New Orleans Children's Health Project and Section Chief of Community Pediatrics and Global Health at Tulane University School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Aysola, a diplomate from the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, has extensive work experience in resource poor settings in Cambodia, Thailand, and India. She received a Bachelors of Science from University of Michigan, with high distinction in Anthropology and Zoology and her MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Session 02
Matthew Goldshore, MD, PhD, MPH
"Center for Surgical Health: A Model for Expansion of Access to Surgical Care"
Dr. Goldshore is a PGY-4 general surgery resident planning on a career in pediatric general, thoracic and fetal surgery. He grew up in Chappaqua, New York and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in Biochemistry and Secondary Science Education. After a short time teaching high school chemistry in Austin, Dr. Goldshore matriculated into the MPH program at the George Washington University (GWU) School of Public Health where he studied maternal-to-child HIV transmission and worked as a lay midwife in East Africa. After completion of his MPH, he started medical school at GWU, then took a leave of absence to pursue his PhD in perinatal epidemiology in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He moved back to Washington, DC in 2014 to complete medical school and started residency in 2016. Dr. Goldshore has always been interested in how maternal disease impacts child health and finds it unjust that socioeconomically deprived women and children are more at risk of disease. He believes that the relation between maternal and child disease is both a result of biological influence and social context. Dr. Goldshore’s current research is situated in the CHOP-Fetal Outcomes Research Center (C-FORCe), an innovative program informed by life course epidemiology to study the health trajectories of children with congenital disease. His clinical interests include pediatric vascular disease and pediatric surgical critical care.
Session 03
Geolani Dy, MD
"Creating a New Culture of Gender-Affirming Surgery Research: Engaging and Centering the Trans & Non-Binary Community"
Dr. Geolani Dy (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology and Transgender Health Program at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. She specializes in genital gender affirming surgery and is passionate about patient-centered outcomes research in transgender/non-binary (TGNB) surgical care. Her training includes urology residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she received the Grady-Fildes Humanism Award and UW Resident Research Award for patient-centered and health services research in pediatric urology. She completed a fellowship in gender-affirming surgery and robotic surgery at New York University. Dr. Dy is an author of the American Urological Association Core Curriculum in Transgender Health, and has published widely on educational gaps in transgender surgical care, emerging robotic techniques in gender-affirming surgery, and patient-centered outcomes in TGNB care. She received a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Engagement Award to develop TRANS-ARC (Transgender and Non-Binary Surgery Allied Research Collective), a multi-stakeholder research collaborative for patient-centered research prioritization. Dr. Dy is also building the multi-center TRANS (Transgender and Non-Binary Surgery) Registry to track clinical and patient reported outcomes of vaginoplasty and vulvoplasty. In addition, Dr. Dy serves on the AUA Task Force for Diversity & Inclusion, and co-founded Urologists for Equity, a grassroots initiative that aims to unite the urologic community in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
Blair Peters, MD
"LGBTQ+ Representation in Academic Surgery"
Dr. Blair Peters (He/They) is an incoming Assistant Professor in both the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Department of Urology at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). He attended medical school and completed his residency training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Manitoba. He was awarded the R. Samuel McLaughlin and Dean of Medicine Education and Research Fellowship awards to pursue further training in advanced peripheral nerve surgery and gender-affirming surgery. He completed his first fellowship in peripheral nerve, hand and microsurgery at Washington University in St Louis. Currently, he is at OHSU where he is one of the first surgeons in North America to complete a fellowship in comprehensive Gender-Affirming Surgery. He strives for clinical innovation and uses his unique training to bring techniques of modern nerve surgery into the field of gender-affirming surgery. His research interests are focused on sensory and erogenous outcomes following genital gender-affirming surgery and the development of novel nerve transfers. Outside of clinical practice, he is both a member and a strong advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. He frequently speaks on panels, creates educational materials and advocates for policy change and increased coverage for gender-affirming surgery and the broader rights of all queer people. He strives to continue to be a strong queer voice in medicine and surgery.
Session 04
"Panel: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Surgery"
Paris Butler, MD, MPH, FACS
Letitia Bradford, MD, FAAOS, FACS
Dr. Paris Butler is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves as the Director of the American Board of Surgery as well as the Director of UIM Affairs in the Graduate Medical Education Office within the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Prior to accepting a faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Butler was a finalist for the prestigious White House Fellowship and served as a policy fellow in the Office of Minority Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Butler has written numerous journal articles highlighting the vast racial disparities that exist for patients receiving reconstructive surgery and the racial disparities that exist in academic medicine and surgery training programs. Dr. Butler has served on the Committee on Surgical Health Care Disparities in the American College of Surgeons and was recognized as a 40 under 40 Leader in Health by the National Minority Quality Forum.
Dr. Bradford is a board-certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and a fellow of both the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons as well as the American College of Surgeons. She completed medical school and residency training at the University of California, San Francisco, where she also conducted two years of Mechanical Engineering basic science research, while receiving multiple awards and producing several scientific papers in the field of joint replacement surgery. She worked for the last 10 years as a General Orthopaedic Surgeon at George Mee Memorial Hospital, but currently does locums Orthopaedic Surgery assignments across the country in underserved areas. She is also a Community Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, has served as the Chair of the Orthopaedic Surgery Section of the National Medical Association, and is a founding member of the Artemis Medical Society–a professional networking and mentoring organization of African-American female physicians. She is currently the Executive Director of Nth Dimensions.
Ariel Nehemiah, MD, MS
Dr. Nehemiah is a current third year categorical resident within the University of Pennsylvania General Surgery Program. She currently has an interest in colon and rectal surgery, as well as surgical oncology. Her research interests include healthcare disparities and health literacy. She intends to devote her time in the lab assessing the health literacy of surgical patients and working to develop a comprehensive program to improve it and allow patients more of an opportunity to be active participants in their care.
Sanford Roberts III, MD
Dr. Roberts is a third-year categorical resident in general surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelors of Arts in Human Biology. He then received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. His research interests include healthcare disparities and surgical workforce diversity. He plans to pursue a career in either vascular or cardiothoracic surgery.
Medical Student Session
Roy Hamilton, MD, MS
"Converting the Diversity Tax into Currency in Academic Medicine"
Dr. Roy Hamilton is a tenured Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania with a secondary appointment in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is the Director of Penn's Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation (LCNS) and also directs the Penn Brain Science, Translation, Innovation and Modulation Center (brainSTIM). Dr. Hamilton been recognized nationally for his work in diversity in the field of neurology and in academic medicine. He is the Assistant Dean for Cultural Affairs and Diversity at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, serves as the inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion for Penn Neurology, and is an inaugural Associate Editor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for the journal Neurology and for three other academic journals published by the AAN: Neurology Clinical Practice, Neurology Genetics, and Neurology Immunology and Neuroinflammation. Dr. Hamilton’s research surrounds using noninvasive electrical and magnetic brain stimulation to explore the characteristics and limits of functional plasticity in the intact and injured human brain. His work has been funded by multiple grants from the NIH and has been supported through awards from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and Dana Foundation. He is the recipient of the AAN Foundation’s Norman Geschwind Prize for excellence in research in the field of behavioral neurology and is the incoming President of the Society for Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology.
Workshop
"Advocacy Through Writing"
Ira Memaj, MPH
Ira Memaj, MPH is a public health educator and researcher in Detroit and New York City. She has an extensive background in gynecological oncology research, reproductive justice, and mass incarceration. Memaj is the founder of Detroit Prison Education Project, furnishing the libraries of correctional facilities across Detroit and providing resources such as tutoring and poetry courses to people who are incarcerated. She is a PhD candidate at CUNY School of Public Health studying the impact of COVID-19 on reproductive justice among incarcerated women. Her current work involves a multi-city COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy project—focusing on Detroit, NYC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Memaj’s work has been featured on Gynecological Oncology Journal, Journal of Reproductive and Sexual Health, Harvard’s Health and Human Rights Journal, Medium, and Forbes.
Rachel Nation, MPH, M3
Rachel Nation is a third year medical student at the CUNY School of Medicine. She recently graduated from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where she helped to cofound Child Health: Resiliency and Promotion Student Group. She is currently involved in research for the EndHep2030 campaign, endeavoring to eliminate viral Hepatitis through intervention and prevention in vulnerable communities. Additionally, Rachel is the Project Manager of the EHR COVID-19 database at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, NY. Her primary passions include women empowerment and mass incarceration, which has driven her to create protocols for Plan A reproductive mobile clinic in the underserved Mississippi Delta, research peer-peer education benefits on women in Malawi, and evaluate the approach of the NY Department of Corrections and Community Supervision on pandemic management within New York prisons during her internship at the Correctional Association of New York.
Agenda
TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2021
6:00 PM EST
Opening Remarks
6:10 PM EST
Keynote Address
Lifting All Boats: Eliminating Disparities among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them
Oluwadamilola "Lola" Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS
7:10 PM EST
Intermission
7:15 PM EST
Concurrent Sessions
Session 1
Understanding and Achieving Health Equity: From Concepts to Strategic Interventions
Jaya Aysola, MD, DTMH, MPH
Session 2
Center for Surgical Health: A Model for Expansion of Access to Surgical Care
Matthew Goldshore, MD, PhD, MPH
Session 3
LGBTQ+ Representation in Academic Surgery
Blair Peters, MD
_________
Creating a New Culture of Gender-Affirming Surgery Research: Engaging and Centering the Trans & Non-Binary Community
Geolani Dy, MD
Session 4
Panel: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Surgery
Paris Butler, MD, MPH, FACS
Letitia Bradford, MD, FAAOS, FACS
Ariel Nehemiah, MD, MS
Sanford Roberts III, MD
8:15 PM EST
Closing Remarks
Agenda
SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021
9:00 AM EST
Opening Remarks
9:10 AM EST
Converting the Diversity Tax into Currency in Academic Medicine
Roy Hamilton, MD, MS
10:10 AM EST
Intermission
10:15 AM EST
Advocacy Through Writing
Ira Memaj, MPH
Rachel Nation, MPH, M3
11:15 AM EST
Closing Remarks
The Venue
Virtual Event
Out of concern for the health and safety of our speakers, conference guests, and local communities, we will be hosting the Anti-Discrimination in Surgery Conference on a virtual platform. We thank you for your willingness to ensure the well-being of all involved parties.
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