Call for Proposals

2027 Research in Health Equity Symposium

The Department of Medicine invites research proposal submissions from members of the University of Rochester, including faculty, trainees, nurses, and APPs advancing health equity in our Rochester communities. This year’s symposium places a special emphasis on healing communities: Creating spaces for healing, healing relationships between communities, celebrating community and collective resilience, building systems of support for researchers and community resilience, and fostering a culture of healing within our institutions.

We especially encourage community-partnered research, multidisciplinary teams, collaboration across institutions or organizations, and transformative collaboration with industry partners. We encourage co-presentation with community or organization partners. However, we will also consider research addressing all areas of health disparities, including but not limited to quality improvement, clinical care delivery, medical education, workforce development, and population health. Abstracts can represent either works-in-progress or published research.

This year we will also consider proposals for workshops focused on health equity research methods, including but not limited to communicating science to the public, developing grant proposals, and navigating IRB submission. Please indicate workshop learning outcomes in your proposal.

If your proposal is accepted for an oral presentation, you will be expected to give a 10-minute oral presentation, followed by a Q&A, during the symposium. There will also be an option to present a poster that will be on display in person and online in our virtual ePoster gallery. The symposium will take place on February 4-5, 2027.

Presentation Formats

• Oral: 10-minute presentation + Q&A
• Poster: In-person + virtual ePoster gallery
• Workshop

Awards

We will be awarding four projects. Awards will be given for:

• Best Oral Presentation
• Best Poster Presentation
• Best Healing Communities Project
• Outstanding Community Investigator or Partner

Submitting a Presentation Proposal

Submissions must be received by September 20^th, 2026 (by 11:59 PM).

Submit your proposal via RedCap

Abstract Submission

• Provide a proposed presentation or workshop title.
• Include a summary of up to 300 words to describe the content of your proposed presentation or workshop.
• To assist the conference team in categorizing your proposal, please share three key words/phrases that best describe your work. For example, “cultural humility,” “community-based research,” and “health literacy”.