24th Annual Symposium
Event Details
February 8, 2025, 8 A.M. to 3 P.M.
The Cal Turner Family Center for Student Education, Meharry Medical College
Special Address
Keynote Speaker: Lucile L. Adams-Campbell, Ph.D.
Founding Director of Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention
Georgetown University Medical Center

Dr. Adams-Campbell is the Founding Director, Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention, Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, Senior Associate Dean for Community Outreach and Engagement, and Distinguished University Professor at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. She received a B.S. in Biology and a M.S. in Biomedical Science from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, and received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Adams-Campbell has received numerous awards and honors including the election to the former Institute of Medicine (The National Academy of Medicine), and the Induction into the D.C. Hall of Fame for her research focus on Health Disparities.
She has received gold medallions awarded from both of her alma maters – the University of Pittsburgh and Drexel University, for outstanding contributions to the field of public health and health sciences. She served on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Dr. Adams-Campbell currently serves on the National Academy of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum. Her most recent appointment is with the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Dr. Adams-Campbell’s research focus is on addressing minority health and cancer health disparities. She conducts lifestyle interventions related to breast cancer and metabolic syndrome and conducts large epidemiological cohort studies including The Black Women’s Health Study. She has more than 200 peer reviewed publications.
Speakers

Vanderbilt University
Jibril Hirbo, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Hirbo’s research interest is in understanding genetics that underlie health disparities. He has an overarching hypothesis developed from his research in population genetics and in the genetics of common diseases with complex inheritance: that the genetic adaptation to high pathogen environments is a major contributing factor to the genetic component of health disparities between those of recent European and recent African ancestry. He studies genetics of ocular diseases to test this hypothesis.

Tennessee State University
Dr. Erdemir has extensive experience in science & engineering, combining diverse areas such as mechatronics, cognitive science, meso-scale robotics and nanotechnology. Skilled in process analysis, modeling systems, developing innovative technical and theoretical solutions and creating new engineering approaches. Worked in the industry as an R&D Leader and project manager for 3 years. Dr. Erdemir is working on an innovative approach to active locomotion for capsular robots in the colorectal district, CNT based batteries and nanorobots.

Meharry Medical College
Dr. Pushpita Chatterjee joined Meharry School of Applied Computational Sciences in August 2024 as assistant professor of computer science and data science. She is dedicated to advancing research in secure, trusted, and resilient distributed computing through cutting-edge and intelligent technologies for cyber-physical systems, with a focus on fintech and smart health care.

Ms. Sheila Dorse-Winfield
Cancer Survivor
As the founder of the Dorse Cancer Oasis Support Group in Nashville, TN, since 2018, Sheila has been connecting cancer survivors with newly diagnosed cancer patients and connecting families with resources & alternatives to eliminating toxins & inflammation from the body to create a healthy mind, body & spirit. At the Dorse Cancer Oasis, she empowers cancer patients to fight against cancer by offering group and one-on-one support. She is retired from the State of TN in Information Technology and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Memphis with a degree in Management Information Systems, with plans to pursue a master’s in healthcare data analytics in the fall of 2025.