Urban Health Symposium

*The call for abstracts is now closed. Please email uhc@drexel.edu with any questions.*

We invited submissions for poster presentations that address the following themes or other topics related to urban health:

• Recent Trends and Developments in Urban Health: Reflect on the last decade and share innovative research findings or policy analysis.
• Climate Change and Urban Health: Insights into the current challenges and future needs regarding urban health impacts of climate change.
• Novel Data and Methods in Urban Health: Showcase your novel methodologies and how they can be applied to urban health research.
• Policies and Interventions for Health Equity: Discuss successful interventions and policy frameworks that address health disparities in urban settings

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstracts should be no more than 200 words.
• Include a brief biography of the presenter(s) and their affiliations (no more than 100 words).
• Indicate Preferred session or theme related to your abstract.
• If accepted, note that the maximum size for a poster is 36 inches wide by 48 inches tall.

Important Dates:

• Abstract Submission Deadline: June 15th, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: June 24th, 2025

Thursday, September 4, 2025

8:00 - 8:30 AM: Registration, Coffee and Breakfast

8:30 - 8:40 AM: Welcome and Overview from Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology, Drexel University

8:40 - 10:10 AM: Session 1: The Challenges of Urban Public Health Today: Reflections from Urban Health Leaders

Moderator: Jennifer Kolker, MPH, Clinical Professor of Health Management and Policy, Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

• Palak Raval-Nelson, PhD, MPH, Health Commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Public Health
• Raynard Washington, PhD, MPH, Director, Public Health Department, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
• Marvia Jones, PhD, MPH, Director, Health Department, Kansas City, Missouri
• David Margolius, MD, Director, Cleveland Department of Public Health

10:10 - 10:30 AM: Break

10:30 - 12:00 PM: Session 2: Climate Change and Urban Health: What we know and what we need to know

Moderator: Leah Schinasi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Environmental & Occupational Health, Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

• Cathryn Tonne, ScD, Research Professor, ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health)
• Tarik Benmarhnia, PhD, Associate Professor, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Department, University of California San Diego
• Daníel Rodriguez, PhD, Chancellor's Professor of City & Regional Planning, Berkeley College of Environmental Design
• Christer Anditi, PhD, Research Consultant, UrbanBetter (South Africa)
• Rodrigo Perpétuo, PhD, Regional Executive Secretary, ICLEI South America

12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunch (Boxed Lunch Provided)

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Keynote 1: Politics and Urban Health

Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH, Director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights and FXB Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health

Moderator: Jaquelyn (Jackie) Jahn, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, The Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements, and Population Health Equity

2:00 - 2:20 PM: Break

2:20 - 3:50 PM: Session 3: Novel Data and Novel Methods in Urban Health

Moderator: Brisa Sánchez, Associate Dean for Research & Dornsife Endowed Professor of Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

• Magdalena Cerda, DrPH, Professor, Department of Population Health, New York University Langone Health
• Harvey Miller, PhD, Professor, Reusche Chair in Geographic Information Science, The Ohio State University
• Steve Mooney, PhD, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, University of Washington
• John Pamplin II, PhD, MPH, Bruce P. Dohrenwend Assistant Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

3:50 - 4:00 PM: Walk to Poster Session

4:00 - 5:30 PM: Poster Session and Reception (Refreshments & Hors d'Ouevres Provided)

Friday, September 5, 2025

8:00 - 8:30 AM: Registration, Coffee and Breakfast

8:30 - 9:30 AM: Keynote 2: Equity, Structural Drivers, and Urban Health

Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, Acting Commissioner of Health, City of New York; Internist & Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital

Moderator: Jourdyn A. Lawrence, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

9:30 - 11:00 AM: Session 4: Policies and Interventions for Health Equity in Neighborhoods

Moderator: Mariana Lazo, MD, Phd, ScM, Research Professor, Community Heath & Prevention, Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University

• Roshanak Mehdipanah, PhD, MS, Health Behavior & Health Equity, University of Michigan School of Public Health
• Olga Lucia Sarmiento MD, PhD, MPH, Professor, Public Health, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)
• Lorraine T. Dean, ScD, Associate Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University & Sevly Snguon, MPH, Doctoral Researcher, Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
• Atheendar Venkataramani, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of the Opportunity for Health Lab, The University of Pennsylvania

11:00 - 11:20 AM: Break

11:20 - 12:20 PM: Session 5: Closing Panel Reflects and Looks Ahead

Moderator: Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology, Drexel University

• Waleska Teixeira Caiaffa, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology & Public Health, Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil)
• Jamile Tellez Lieberman, DrPH, MPH, SVP of Community Engagement, Research & Health Equity, Esperanza
• Usama Bilal, MD, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Co-Director of the Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel University
• Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, Acting Commissioner of Health, City of New York; Internist & Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital

12:20 - 12:30 PM: Closing Remarks from Usama Bilal, MD, PhD, MPH, Co-Director of the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Drexel University

Climate Change and Urban Health: A Focus on the Future

The Urban Health Collaborative will also host a pre-symposium event to address challenges and opportunities in examining the impacts of climate change on cities worldwide. The event will feature two expert panels:

Novel Data and Methods to Study the Impacts of Climate Change on Cities – A discussion of innovative methodologies for climate research.

Leveraging Evidence to Support Climate Responses on Multiple Scales – A conversation on how policymakers use evidence, their needs, and ways researchers can collaborate more effectively with them.

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

8:00 - 8:50 AM: Pre-Event: Welcome And Refreshments

8:50 - 9:00 AM: Introduction And Welcome from Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, Distinguished University Professor of Epidemiology

9:00 - 10:30 AM: Methodological Panel: Novel Data And Methods TO Study The Impacts Of Climate Change On Cities

Moderator: Maryia Bakhtsiyarava, PhD, Assistant Research Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, Urban Health Collaborative

• Tarik Benmarhnia, PhD, Associate Professor, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
• Joan Casey, PhD, Associate Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health, University of Washington
• Kai Chen, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Yale University
• Gaige Kerr, PhD, Assistant Research Professor, Milken Institute of Public Health, George Washington University

10:30 - 10:45 AM: Coffee Break

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM: Policy Maker Panel: Leveraging Evidence to Support Climate Responses on Multiple Scales

Moderator: Manuel Franco, Social and Urban Epidemiologist, Basque Climate Change Research Center (BC3)

• Katie Anderson, MPH, Disease Control Epidemiologist, Philadelphia Department of Public Health
• Rodrigo Perpétuo, PhD, Regional Executive Secretary, ICLEI South America
• Raynard Washington, PhD, MPH, Director, Public Health Department, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
• Abby Sullivan, MRM, CFM, Chief Resilience Officer, City of Philadelphia Office of Sustainability

12:15 PM - 12:25 PM: Closing Remarks from Usama Bilal, MD, PhD, MPH, Co-Director of the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Drexel University