Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities

**NOTE: links to background reading are provided next to the title of each presentation

Day 1: Palliative Care
Monday, December 12, 2016, 8:30am – 3:30pm

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8:30 – 9:00am 
Registration & Coffee

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9:00 – 9:25am
Welcome and Overview of the Conference
Dingle Spence, MD
Senior Medical Officer, Hope Institute Hospital, South East Region Health Authority, Jamaica
Consultant in Clinical Oncology & Palliative Medicine, Hope Institute Hospital
Associate Lecturer, Department of Medicine, University of the West Indies
Founding Leader, Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities

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Introduction of the Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute
Jennifer Alexander, MD
Owner and Founder, Surgipath & Cytology Lab, Inc.
Owner and CEO, The Hair Loss Clinic of Jamaica
Founding Leader, Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities

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Opening Remarks
Alexandra E. Shields, PhD
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Director, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities
Co-Director, Harvard Catalyst Health Disparities Research Program
Associate Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Founding Leader, Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute

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9:25 – 9:55am
Medical Management of Lung Cancer: Overview of Current Guidelines and Emerging Therapies (background reading #1, reading #2, reading #3, and reading #4)
Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH
Medical Director, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center
Faculty Director for Cancer Care Equity, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities

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9:55 – 10:15am 
Introduction to Palliative Care Concepts
Patrick Jason Toppin, MD
Consultant in Anesthesia and Intensive Care, University Hospital of the West Indies
Associate Lecturer, Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, University of the West Indies

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10:15 – 10:45am
A Research Agenda to Support Development of Palliative Care in Low and Middle Income Countries (background reading #1, reading #2, reading #3, reading #4, reading #5, and reading #6) 
Eric Krakauer, MD, PhD
Medical Officer, Palliative Care, World Health Organization (WHO)
Physician, Palliative Care Service, Massachusetts General Hospital
Director, International Programs, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
Co-Chair, Edwin Cassem Optimum Care Committee, Massachusetts General Hospital
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Assistant Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School

          

10:45 – 11:00am      COFFEE BREAK

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11:00 – 11:30am
Balancing Benefits and Burdens: The Ethical and Communication Principles of Palliative Care (background reading #1 and reading #2)
Mark Stoltenberg, MD, MA
Physician, Palliative Care Service, Massachusetts General Hospital
Clinical Instructor, Harvard Medical School

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11:30 – 12:00pm
Non-Pain Symptom Management (Nausea and Vomiting, Dyspnoea, Constipation) (background reading # 1 and reading #2)
Eric Krakauer, MD, PhD

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12:00 – 12:30pm
Control of Cancer Pain: Medical and Ethical Issues
Mark Stoltenberg, MD, MA

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12:30 – 1:20pm        LUNCH

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1:20 – 1:40pm
The Role of Nursing and Other Allied Health Professionals in Pain Management (background reading #1, reading #2, and reading #3)
Bonnie Croteau, RN, MBA
Board Member, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities
Former Hospice Nurse & Manager, Medical Quality Improvement and Analysis, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

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1:40 – 1:55pm
Spirituality - A Key Construct in Understanding Racial Differences in End of Life Care?
Alexandra E. Shields, PhD

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1:55 – 2:10pm
Spiritual Care: One of the 5 Core Competencies for End of Life Care: What Does “Spiritual Care” Mean in the Jamaican Context?
Rev. Dorothy Grant, PhD
Volunteer Chaplain, Hope Institute
Founder and Director, Jamaica Association of Healthcare Chaplains (JAHC)
Jamaican Representative, HealthCare Chaplaincy Network / Spiritual Care Association of New York

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2:10 – 2:25pm          COFFEE BREAK

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2:25 – 2:45pm
What are the Ingredients of Guideline-Recommended End of Life Care?
Dingle Spence, MD

2:45 – 3:30pm­­
Future Directions
Dingle Spence, MD & Sheray Chin, MD

 

Day 2: Cutting Edge Cancer Research on Disparities & Genomics
Tuesday, December 13, 2016, 8:30am – 3:30pm
______________________________________________________________________________

8:30 – 9:00am 
Registration & Coffee

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9:00 – 9:10am
Welcome & Overview of the Day
Sheray Chin, MD
Consultant in Medical Oncology & Internal Medicine, Sub-Department of Hematology, Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, University Hospital of the West Indies
Lecturer, University of the West Indies
Founding Leader, Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities

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PANEL I: Cancer Disparities and Cancer Genomics Research
Jennifer Alexander, MD (Moderator)

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9:10 – 9:20am 
Opening Remarks and Introductions
Jennifer Alexander, MD

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9:20 – 9:40am 
The Under-representation of African Ancestry Patients in Somatic Mutation Research: Implications for Cancer Disparities
Alexandra E. Shields, PhD

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9:40 – 10:00am
From Cells to Society: The Roots of Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer (background reading #1 and reading #2)
Erica Warner, ScD
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Assistant Investigator, Massachusetts General Hospital
Project Director and Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities
Co-Investigator, Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute
 

10:00 – 10:20am
Genomic Differences in Aggressive Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry Compared to Men of European Ancestry— Clues to Black-White Disparities in Prostate Cancer Research?
Franklin Huang, MD, PhD
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Postdoctoral Fellow, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities
Co-Investigator, Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute

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10:20 – 10:40am
Advances in Somatic Mutation Research for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Subsequent Emerging Therapies: The Consequences of the Lack of Minority Subjects in Discovery Data Sets
Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH

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10:40 – 10:55am             COFFEE BREAK

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10:55 – 11:20am
Panel I Discussion

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PANEL II: Social and Environmental Exposures and Epigenetic Mechanisms of Disease
Alexandra E. Shields, PhD (Moderator)

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11:20 – 12:05pm
Introduction to Epigenetics (background reading #1 and reading #2)
Andrea Baccarelli, MD, PhD, MPH
Leon Hess Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Health Sciences,
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations and Health Disparities

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12:05 – 12:20pm
The Epigenetic Impact of Psychosocial Stress and the Road to Resilience
Bobak Seddighzadeh, MA
Research Associate, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities
Project Director, Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute

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12:20 – 1:10pm        LUNCH

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1:10 – 1:25pm
Epigenetic Modifications Involved in Stress-Related Clinical Outcomes (background reading #1 and reading #2)
M. Austin Argentieri, MPhil
Research Associate, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities

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1:25 – 1:45pm
Environmental Toxins Related to Cancer: Current Methods in Environmental Health Research (background reading #1 and reading #2)
Aisha Dickerson, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Departments of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Affiliated Faculty, Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities

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1:45 – 2:00pm          COFFEE BREAK

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2:00 – 2:25pm
Panel II Discussion

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2:25– 3:30pm­­
Strategic Planning/Identifying Action Steps
Dingle Spence, MD; Jennifer Alexander, MD; Sheray Chin, MD; Alexandra E. Shields, PhD