ASMS Students are a First for UAB Institute Attendance

ASMS seniors Dorian Gonzalez, MarTasia Hardy,  Kahyeon Jeon, Joshua Lowery, Madison McGilberry, Laila Minor, Davis Stephenson, JaTaviah Tarver, and Karighan Womack were the first high school students to be formally invited to the yearly UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Community Dissemination Institute! This year's Institute was held August 25-26, in Mobile at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel with the theme of "Boots on the Ground: Uniting Voices for Cancer Research, Prevention, and Care."

According to Dr. Timiya Nolan, Assoc. Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at UAB's O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, "For nearly 25 years, the Institute has served as a cornerstone for connecting people from all walks of life—including researchers, healthcare professionals, advocates...to collaborate on ways to reduce the burden of cancer across Alabama, Mississippi, and beyond. . . .We come to the Institute annually to understand the needs of people, hear from people, and co-creating solutions with people that reflect the realities of those people and their communities."

Dr. Mackenzie Fowler, Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, noted how "ASMS students had the opportunity to engage and network with community members who are the 'boots on the ground' providing education to their communities on cancer prevention and screening and navigating them to cancer care services across Alabama and Mississippi."

ASMS student, JaTaviah Tarver, stated, "It was so exciting to be in an environment with physicians, scientists, non-profit leaders, public health agency leaders, pharmaceutical company representatives, etc., and have them genuinely appreciate us being there, interacting and sharing so much vital information and experiences with us! We are truly thankful to have had this opportunity!"

A big thank you to ASMS Chemistry Professor, Dr. Matthew Davenport, for transporting and chaperoning the attending ASMS students!