4th Annual reimagine Health Research Symposium

The 4th Annual reimagine Health Research Symposium on Health and Disease over the Lifespan will examine the molecular and genetic basis, clinical management, societal impact and health disparities of important human diseases that occur over the lifespan, ranging from pediatric to geriatric conditions, including during gestation and the impact of the environment. The symposium will explore this theme with sessions on Ageing and the Immune System, Genomic Instability and Cancer over the Lifespan, Gestation and the Environment, and Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

All times listed below are in Arizona local time / MST. Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving.

9:00 AM - Symposium Begins with Welcoming Remarks

9:10 AM - Janko Nikolich-Žugich, MD, PhD - Immunity, Aging and COVID-19 – Basic and Practical Aspects

9:35 AM - Jessica Lancaster, PhD - Age-Associated Impairments of Lymph Node Fibroblastic Reticular Cells Dysregulates T Cell Homeostasis

10:00 AM - Karen Hastings, MD, PhD - Immune Recognition of Melanoma

10:35 AM - Nathan Ellis, PhD - Epigenetic Dysregulation in the Development of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer

11:00 AM - Mitchell Cairo, MD - Targeted Humoral Immunotherapy in Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Lymphomas

11:25 AM - Gregory Armstrong, MD, MSCE - The Lifetime Impact of Childhood Cancer and Cancer Therapy

11:50 AM - Networking & Poster Viewing

12:35 PM – Jerry Shay, PhD - Aging and Cancer: Are Telomeres and Telomerase the Connection?

1:45 PM – Emily Barrett, PhD - How does the Prenatal Environment Impact Children’s Development?

2:10 PM - Velia Nuño, PhD, MSW - The Role of Weathering on Black Women’s Maternal Health

2:35 PM – Daniel Hoffman, PhD - The Impact of Early Childhood Nutritional Experiences on Adult Health

3:10 PM - Rita Sattler, PhD A-I RNA editing regulates nuclear export of TDP-43

3:35 PM – Shenfeng Qiu, MD, PhD - Control of cortical circuit development by MET receptor tyrosine kinase, a genetic risk factor for autism

4:00 PM - Dan Geschwind, MD, PhD - Integrative Genomics and Systems Biology for Therapeutic Discovery and Precision Health in Brain Disorders

4:45 PM – Closing Remarks - Paul Boehmer, PhD

4:50 PM - Symposium Concludes

Please click here for speaker bios

Jerry W. Shay, PhD

Vice Chairman, Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern

Associate Director, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

Southland Financial Corporation Distinguished Chair in Geriatrics

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Aging and Cancer: Are Telomeres and Telomerase the Connection?

Daniel H. Geschwind, MD, PhD

University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine

Integrative genomics and systems biology for therapeutic discovery and precision health in brain disorders

Greg T. Armstrong, MD, MSCE

Member, Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Co-Program Leader, Cancer Control and Survivorship Program

Principal Investigator, Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Emily S. Barrett, PhD

Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health

Mitchell S. Cairo, MD

Chief, Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation  

Director, Children and Adolescent Cancer and Blood Diseases Center  

Associate Chairman, Department of Pediatrics  

Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital 

Westchester Medical Center (WMC)  

New York Medical College

Nathan A. Ellis, PhD

Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 

Co-Leader, Cancer Biology Program

Chair, Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona Cancer Center University of Arizona 

Karen Hastings, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, Basic Medical Sciences, Immunobiology

Co-Director, MD/PhD Program, University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix

Attending Dermatologist, Phoenix VA Healthcare System

Daniel J. Hoffman, PhD

Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences

Director, Program in International Nutrition

Director, Center for Childhood Nutrition Research

Jessica Lancaster, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic 

Janko Nikolich-Zugich, MD, PhD

Bowman Professor and Head, Department of Immunobiology

Co-Director, University of Arizona Center on Aging 

Velia Leybas Nuño, PhD, MSW

Assistant Professor, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona

Shenfeng Qiu, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix

Rita Sattler, PhD

Professor, Department of Translational Neuroscience, Barrow Neurological Institute

The event is open to the public. We highly recommend researchers and healthcare professionals to attend. We also welcome students, educators and the general public to attend this valuable conference. Early registration is encouraged.

To request disability-related accommodations that would ensure your full participation in this event, please contact: [email protected].

Thanks to our generous sponsors, the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre and the Flinn Foundation, there is no cost to attend the symposium.

Virtual tickets will be available until sold out.

The symposium will be hosted virtually via our event platform, Whova.

This symposium will be virtually hosted by The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. Registered attendees will be invited to the virtual symposium platform, Whova, the week of the symposium and provided with the password to login. Whova will be used for streaming the symposium, submitting questions for speakers, interacting with attendees, viewing posters, and more! The invitation will sent directly from Whova to your individual email.

Visit our website to learn more about the symposium!

To request disability-related accommodations that would ensure your full participation in this event, please contact: [email protected].

If you have questions about the event, please contact the Research Office at [email protected].

Event Venue

Online