UB’s sixth annual Beyond the Knife Lecture in Social Justice and Health Equity — “How do we balance the scales of health equity? The impact of the providers” — will take place Feb. 5 at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Andrea Hayes-Dixon, the first Black woman to serve as dean of the Howard University College of Medicine, will give the keynote talk. Prior to being named dean in 2022, Hayes-Dixon was chair of Howard’s Department of Surgery. In 2004, she became the first Black woman in the U.S. to be board-certified in pediatric surgery.

Free and open to the public, the event will take place in-person and virtually, beginning with a reception at 5 p.m. to be followed by the lecture and panel discussion starting at 5:45 p.m. The program will conclude at 7:15 p.m. with a reception. The event takes place in the M&T Lecture Hall, Room 2220 in the Jacobs School.

Registration, both in-person and virtual, is available at this link.

The Department of Surgery in the Jacobs School established the endowed Beyond the Knife lectureship following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 to engage the Jacobs School and the Western New York communities in the difficult conversations surrounding racism and health care in the U.S.

“The Department of Surgery is delighted to present the sixth annual Beyond the Knife Endowed Lecture in Social Justice and Health Equity — and honored to host a surgeon of Dean Hayes-Dixon’s caliber and commitment,” says Steven Schwaitzberg, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery. “This event is an opportunity to share knowledge and best practices, and to think together about how providers can best serve our neighbors.”

Following Hayes-Dixon’s talk, a panel will discuss the impact of the pipelines of physicians, nurses and dentists in getting to health equity and the roles of Howard University and historically Black health care colleges, as well as that of predominantly white institutions, in addressing the provider pipeline. Panel members are:

• Allison Brashear, vice president for health sciences and dean, Jacobs School.
• Jamal B. Williams, assistant professor of psychiatry, Jacobs School.
• Rhonda Wilson, founder and president, Buffalo Black Nurses Inc.
• Thomas Ward, dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Farmingdale State College.