Building Trust: confronting Anti-Black Racism in Health and Regenerative Medicine
(HAMILTON, ON)
DATE: Tuesday, March 26th, 2024
TIME: 11 am – 6 pm
LOCATION: 100 Main St. W. Hamilton, ON (David Braley Health Sciences Centre)
VIEW FULL EVENT VIDEO (see individual presentations linked below)
Hamilton Event Partners
| An event hosted by the Caribbean African Regenerative Medicine project |
Welcome and Introductions – Dr. Istvan Mucsi
Presentation: Access to Kidney Health
Dr. Mucsi is a CIHR-funded clinician investigator, a transplant nephrologist at the Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His research centers on reducing ethnocultural inequities in kidney transplant access. Collaborating with community organizations, he develops culturally responsive transplant education. In Health Canada-funded research, he analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from ~ 700 participants (~250 ACB community members) to gain insight into inequitable access to live donor kidney transplants.
Dr. Michael Sefton
Presentation: Stem Cells 101
Michael Sefton is the scientific director of Medicine by Design. He is a University Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He holds degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been active in the preparation of blood compatible materials through heparinization, the microencapsulation of mammalian cells in synthetic polymers and various strategies for vascularizing tissue constructs.
Dr. Jacqui Getfield
Dr. Getfield is an adjunct member of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, York University. Her research interests include mothering, blackness, race, disability, and home-school-community partnerships. She theorizes through the lenses of Black Feminism, Critical Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory. Dr. Getfield is the Vice-President of the Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators and a board member of the Caribbean African Canadian Social Services. She lectures at Toronto Metropolitan University, Seneca College and Centennial College.
Dr. Arjun Law
Presentation: Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation for Blood Disorders
Dr. Law is a Clinical Hematologist and Stem Cell Transplant Physician at Princess Margaret Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Medicine, at the University of Toronto, specializing in acute and chronic leukemia care and stem cell transplantation. His research focuses on advanced genomics, adoptive immunotherapy, and stem cell transplantation. He has started a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto’s Stem Cell Club, a student organization, to improve access to stem cell and bone marrow transplants for racialized communities.
Dorothy Vernon-Brown
Presentation: Donation Matters and Black Patients
Dorothy Vernon-Brown has spent 9 years advocating for young, healthy Black adults (17-35) to join Canada’s stem cell registry, aiming to save lives affected by blood cancer and disorders. As co-founder and chair of Donor Drive 4 Dorothy, her mission is personal, having received a successful stem cell transplant. Additionally, she owns AKB² Small Business Marketing and has been honored by Canada’s Black Business & Professional Association with the Woman of Honour Award for exceptional service to the community.
Dr. Sarah Patterson
Presentation: Sickle Cell Disease
Dr. Sarah Patterson is hematologist from Hamilton Health Sciences who with adults with Red Blood Cell Disorders like Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia. She is also an assistant professor at McMaster University. She completed her medical training at Queen’s University and McMaster University. She has an interest in promoting health equity and quality of care. She is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Health Systems Research at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Cecile Getfield
Q&A: Sickle Cell Anemia and Interventions in Black Health
Dr. Cecile Getfield is an advocate for healthcare in underserved communities.
Getfield
Dr. Rulan Parekh
Presentation: Dr. Rulan Parekh – APOL1 and Genetic Risk of Progressive Kidney Disease
Dr. Rulan Parekh is a clinician-scientist, and an international leader in clinical epidemiology and translational research in kidney disease.
Dr. Juliet Daniel
Presentation: Juliet Daniel – Dances of the Cure-abbean
Dr. Juliet Daniel is a Professor in the Department of Biology and the Associate Dean Research & External Relations in the Faculty of Science, at McMaster University. She is also an associate member of the Department of Oncology and Francombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute at McMaster. Dr. Daniel received her B.Sc. from Queen’s University and her Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia.
