Annual Lifespan Conference

A full-day conference bringing together basic and clinical researchers, health professionals and trainees to examine the influence of disparities on the development, and trajectory of biological processes influencing health and disease across the lifespan.
Sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Magee-Womens Research Institute.
Keynote speakers that were scheduled for this year’s conference are listed below.
Note: Registration is required and space is limited. Deadline to register is May 12.
This activity is approved for the following credit: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and ANCC.
Lifespan 2021 Virtual Event
Dates: Thursday, May 13 &
Friday, May 14
Time: 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Keynote Speakers
Conference Agenda
Click the buttons below to see each day's schedule.
Note: Agenda is tentative and subject to change.
11 - 11:35 a.m. | Dara Mendez, PhD, MPH. Presentation: Racism, Equity and Black Mental Health in the US. Introduced by Yoel Sadovsky, MD. |
11:35 - 11:50 a.m. | Q&A with Dr. Mendez. |
11:50 - 11:55 a.m. | Break. |
11:55 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Vence L. Bonham Jr, JD. Presentation: Across the Life Span: Maximizing the Usability of Genomics for All. Introduced by Mylynda Massart, MD, PhD. |
12:30 - 12:45 p.m. | Q&A with Mr. Bonham. |
12:45 - 1:15 p.m. | Lunch Networking with Dr. Mendez and Mr. Bonham. |
1:15 - 1:50 p.m. | Derek Griffith, PhD. Presentation: Health Equity, Precision Medicine, and African American Men’s Health. Introduced by Yoel Sadovsky, MD. |
1:50 - 2:05 p.m. | Q&A with Dr. Griffith. |
2:05 - 2:10 p.m. | Break. |
2:10 - 2:45 p.m. | Margartia Alegría, PhD. Presentation: Reducing Disparities in Health and Mental Health Care: Interventions throughout the Life Cycle. Introduced by Daniel Buysse, MD. |
2:45 - 3 p.m. | Q&A with Dr. Alegría. |
3 - 3:05 p.m. | Break. |
3:05 - 3:30 p.m. | Networking with Drs. Griffith and Alegría. |
3:30 p.m. | Adjournment |
11 - 11:35 a.m. | Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD. Presentation: Community-Partnered Approaches to Promoting Child and Adolescent Health Equity. Introduced by Yoel Sadovsky, MD. |
11:35 - 11:50 a.m. | Q&A with Dr. Miller. |
11:50 - 11:55 a.m. | Break. |
11:55 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Chandra Jackson, PhD, MS. Presentation: Understanding and Addressing Structural Racism and Health Inequities: The ‘Sleep Exposome Across the Life course’ Example. Introduced by Daniel Buysse, MD. |
12:30 - 12:45 p.m. | Q&A with Dr. Jackson. |
12:45 - 1:15 p.m. | Lunch Networking with Drs. Miller and Jackson. |
1:15 - 1:50 p.m. | Tiffany Gary-Webb, PhD, MHS. Presentation: Health Disparities for African American Populations: Pre-COVID, During COVID, and Beyond . Introduced by Daniel Buysse, MD. |
1:50 - 2:05 p.m. | Q&A with Dr. Gary-Webb. |
2:05 - 2:10 p.m. | Break. |
2:10-2:45 p.m. | Robert Coulter, PhD, MPH. Presentation: Sexual Violence Research for Sexual and Gender Minority Populations from Childhood through Young Adulthood. Introduced by Mylynda Massart, MD, PhD. |
2:45 - 3 p.m. | Q&A with Dr. Coulter. |
3 - 3:05 p.m. | Break. |
3:05-3:30 p.m. | Networking with Drs. Gary-Webb and Coulter. |
3:30 p.m. | Adjournment |
Sponsors



For questions, please contact Denise Smalley at smalleyd@pitt.edu.
Previous Conferences
2019: The Epigenome Across the Lifespan
2018: A Day in the Lifespan

This conference was held in the spring of 2019 and focused on the processes, course, and impact of epigenomic pathways across the life’s course and on fostering collaborations among partners in science.

This conference was held in the spring of 2018, and the topic centered on biomedical science across the lifespan with emphasis on aging and the developmental origin of health and disease.