Seminar Series:

“Health Disparities Research and Practice in a Changing Political Context: Hosted by Health and Justice Advocates at UCI”

Monday, May 15, 2017 12 – 12:50 pm CalIT2

Speaker(s): Dr. Annie Ro, Assistant Professor, Program in Public Health, UCI; Sarah de Guia, JD, Executive Director of CPEHN, Dr. Brittany Morey, Post-doctoral fellow at UC Riverside, Dr. Mojgan Sami, Project Scientist, Program in Public Health, UCI; Dr. Michael Montoya, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, UCI

Abstract: The results of the 2016 US presidential election have presented many changes and challenges for health disparities researchers, practitioners and scholars. The current administration has proposed sweeping changes in many policy areas, including immigration, criminal justice, environmental regulation, federal taxes, and healthcare. Moreover, the results of the election suggest deep social divisions, and certain racial, ethnic, and religious communities may be experiencing a greater sense of discrimination or hostility. Those of us in public health and related fields need to understand how proposed policies and changing social dynamics impact the health of the communities we serve, and how we can best work within this new context. To this end, Health and Justice Advocates at UCI is collaborating with the Public Health Seminar Series to bring in health disparities experts who will share their knowledge, experiences and ideas.

Biography: Dr. Mojgan Sami, PhD is currently a Project Scientist and Lecturer at UCI’s Program in Public Health with over 25 years of global development and community health experience. Sarah de Guia, JD is the Executive Director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and has over a decade of experience advocating for access to culturally appropriate health care, reproductive justice, and promoting immigrants’ rights. Dr. Brittany Morey, PhD, MPH will be a Chancellor’s postdoctoral fellow at UC Riverside in the School of Public Policy, conducting research on how immigration policies affect health for ethnic minorities in the US. Dr. Michael Montoya, PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Sciences whose research focuses on exploring the boundaries of biomedical and social sciences in order to find a critically integrated approach to solving health disparities among Chicano/Latino communities. Dr. Annie Ro, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor at UCI’s Program in Public Health and studies the social, economic, and cultural factors that contribute to immigrants’ patterns of disease.