International Conference on Cancer Health Disparities

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The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is located at the United States (US)-Mexico border, a region where more than 91% of the population is Latino/Hispanic. The four counties of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) account for almost 1.4 million people, many of whom suffer from several different health disparities including obesity, diabetes, and cancer. The School of Medicine (SOM) was founded in 2015 to provide improved health care, medical education, and biomedical research. UTRGV-SOM is strategically positioned to improve the lives and well-being of RGV surrounding communities through innovative research and patient-centered care. UTRGV-SOM attracts and supports research that will help to address the health disparities of the RGV Latino/Hispanic population. As a part of its mission to educate a diverse group of medical students, residents, and future biomedical scientists in cancer and understand cancer disparities at a global level, 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 UTRGV-SOM with the support of R13 CA254453. About 200 national and international delegates from 10 countries attended this hybrid meeting in person and through online digital methods. Considering enthusiastic participation from US and Mexico border institutions and international participation, we propose continuation of this International Conference Series. This conference series will be expanded to take advantage of the opportunity for continued medical education for our diverse populations and to continue emphasis on minority health and cancer health disparities in US-Mexico border areas. This conference complements well the mission of the AACR Annual and AACR cancer health disparity meetings. Therefore, UTRGV-SOM respectfully requests R13 support from the NIH NCI for an Annual Research Symposium Series entitled “International Conference on Cancer Health Disparities,” to be held from December 9-10, 2022; December 8-9, 2023; December 7-8, 2024, in the RGV area. The event delegates will be representatives from NIH (NCI/NIMHD), CPRIT, and the City of Harlingen, Edinburg, McAllen, Mission, Texas, in addition to clinicians, faculty, researchers, scientists, bioinformaticians, bioethicists, and others. This International Conference also closely aligns with the mission of the NCI (NCI Global Health Center) and NIMHD, that is, to support global cancer research and cancer health disparity research to advance scientific knowledge and help all people live longer and maintain a high-quality lifestyle. The prime objectives of ICCHD will be 1) To provide a unique platform for scientific discussions between basic, clinical, and translational cancer researchers from institutions on both sides of the US-Mexico border and from other international institutions, 2) To introduce health disparities concepts and educate investigators in global cancer health disparity research and organize community-based participatory research and outreach, and 3) To enable interprofessional and transdisciplinary partnerships to bring awareness to and help eliminate minority health disparities in the U.S. and other countries.