Besides their historical reputations for dismal winter weather, Buffalo and Rochester share many similarities; one of them, unfortunately, is the persistence of health inequities in both cities.

On Oct. 9, UB and the University of Rochester will co-host “Bridging the Gaps: Advancing Health Equity in Western New York.”

The symposium will bring together researchers, clinicians, public health practitioners, community leaders, and policymakers to examine the persistent gaps in health equity across the region and to chart collaborative, evidence-informed paths forward. The event is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 9 on the fifth floor (Murphy Family Seminar Room) in UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center in Buffalo.

Registration is available online.

The keynote speaker will be Leonard E. Egede, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Charles and Mary Bauer Endowed Chair of Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB and president and CEO of UBMD Internal Medicine. He is also medical director of clinical research for Kaleida Health and Erie County Medical Center and medical director for population health for Great Lakes Integrated Network IPA.

Ekaterina Noyes, associate dean for translational and team science and director of the Division of Health Services Policy and Practice in the UB School of Public Health and Health Professions, will moderate a panel on innovations in equity with Dee Johnson, executive director, The National Witness Project; Ann Abdella, president, A2 Associates; J’Leise Sosa, medical director, Golisano Children’s Hospital of Buffalo’s Women’s Health Centers; and Elizabeth Bostock, chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UR Medicine.

“Health inequities across Western New York remain deeply rooted in social determinants of health,” says Heather M. Gardiner, professor and Carl V. Granger Endowed Chair in Health Equity in the Department of Family Medicine at UB.

“Too often, research and intervention efforts are siloed, with little coordination across cities or regions,” Gardiner adds. “This meeting is the first step toward a regional collaborative greater than either city could build alone. It provides the foundation for a durable Western New York health equity network that may be leveraged to build the kind of multi-site, regionally coordinated research programs that transform communities across the WNY region.”

Gardiner is director of UB’s Community Health Equity Research Institute, which is co-hosting the symposium with UR’s Center for Community Health and Prevention.