APAMSA Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference 2016

You are cordially invited to the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association’s (APAMSA) annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference! This year, we are examining how culture intersects, informs, and influences different aspects of Asian and Pacific Islander American healthcare. We have speakers discussing a range of topics, from international healthcare and Hepatitis B, to the influences of Asian film on healthcare. These speakers are leaders in their work on Asian and Pacific Islander American health issues and important figures in the Asian and Pacific Islander American community here in Philadelphia. This is an amazing opportunity to meet and hear about their inspiring experiences. In addition, you will have the opportunity to connect with students from medical schools in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, D.C., and West Virginia. This is always a highly attended event by medical students all over the region, so don’t miss out on this great networking and learning experience!

Who: You! Everyone is welcome! You do not have to be of Asian/Pacific Islander heritage or a medical student to attend.

When: Saturday, February 6th, 2016 8:00AM-1:00PM

Where: Dorrance H. Hamilton Building at Thomas Jefferson University

(1001 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107)

Will lunch and breakfast be provided? YES.

Dress: Business Casual

Conference Fee: $15 - This covers the cost of hosting the conference, including venue and food fees.

How do I attend? See Registration below!

Registration Deadline: January 23rd*

*Note: You can register after January 23rd, HOWEVER if you choose to do this lunch and breakfast will not be guaranteed. The closer you register to the conference date, the less we can guarantee that you will get food.

Warning: If you do not register and pay before the conference begins, you will not be able to attend the conference.

Dr. Lopez is Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Associate Dean of Diversity and Community Engagement at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. He is a board certified Emergency Medicine physician who sees patients at both Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Methodist Hospital. In addition to his clinical work, he is also involved in research on sickle cell disease and heads the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. He received his medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and his Master’s in Pharmacology from the Jefferson College of Graduate Studies.

Dr. Eun is an Associate Professor of Urology at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Chief of Robotic Surgery and Director of Minimally Invasive Robotic Urologic Oncology & Reconstruction at Temple University Hospital. He is the Surgical Director of Temple Hospital’s Bloodless Care Program and also serves as Director of Temple’s Robotics Training Center and Temple’s Robotic Urologic Surgery Fellowship Training Program. He earned his BS from Pennsylvania State University, medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine, and completed his residency and fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital’s Vattikuti Urology Institute in Detroit.

Wayne Bond Lau, MD, FACEP, Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, is a proud local Philadelphia native. Raised in Lansdale, Montgomery County (where his parents still live), Dr. Lau is a North Penn High School alumnus, he graduated from the joint Pennsylvania State University/Jefferson Medical College 6 year accelerated medical program in 2004. A Jeffersonian ever since, he completed his emergency medicine residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 2007, serving as Chief Resident during his senior year. As faculty, Dr. Lau contributes to emergency medicine through patient clinical care, basic science research (investigating cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury in diabetic models), and medical education of both medical college students and residents at Jefferson. He is the co-director of the volunteer driven Chinatown Clinic, where he cares for the underserved communities of Philadelphia weekly. Both his younger sister Bonnie (also an academic emergency physician in Santa Clara, California) and his wife Tingfang (a psychiatrist and fellow Jeffersonian) have given their time to the Chinatown Clinic as well.

Rob Buscher, Festival Director of Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, is a film and media specialist who has worked in many aspects of film including production, administration and distribution. Due in part to his biracial Japanese American heritage, Robʼs expertise is Japanese and East Asian Cinema although he has worked as a professional film programmer in a wide variety of genres. Some of his career highlights include co-founding Zipangu Fest - the UKʼs premier Japanese Film Festival, co-hosting and programming Philadelphia Japan Arts Matsuri Tohoku Earthquake charity film festival and creating the Japanese Cinema Studies curriculum at Arcadia University. Robʼs board affiliations include Japanese American Citizens League National Strategic Planning Committee, Pan Asian Association of Greater Philadelphia Heritage Month Celebration Planning Committee, JACL PHL Chapter and PHLDiversity Boards, and Governor Wolfʼs Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.

Pavitri Dwivedi graduated from Boston University School of Public Health in 2014, where she studied global health with an emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of public health programs and was also enrolled in the pharmaceuticals program. Ms. Dwivedi has worked extensively with non-profit organizations internationally to understand healthcare from a global perspective. Currently, Ms. Dwivedi works as the Public Health Program Manager for the Hepatitis B Foundation and also manages the Hepatitis B United Philadelphia Coalition to increase hepatitis B awareness, testing and vaccination in the at risk communities. In this role, her main responsibilities include directing hepatitis B screening events and health fairs in addition to increasing education and awareness through direct community based organizations and social media outreach. She will be starting medical school in Fall 2016 to continue fighting towards stigmatized illnesses and alleviate healthcare disparities.

If you would like to contact Ms. Tong about her talk or resources she can provide for your clinic, e-mail her at Phuong.Tong@cms.hhs.gov.

Phuong Tong works in the Office of External Affairs at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Philadelphia Regional Office. She implements multi-state outreach and education initiatives for AAPIs and special-focus communities to increase Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance enrollment and access to coverage. Ms. Tong is a current CMS State Lead for Maryland and the District of Columbia’s State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs), providing help to Medicare beneficiaries.

Ms. Tong came to CMS after managing a Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) initiative for CMS. She was also a certified Navigator providing bi-lingual ACA enrollment assistance. Previously, she managed federal grant evaluations and Health & Life-Skills programs for a not-for-profit organization. Ms. Tong is a first-generation AAPI immigrant, who understands health disparities first-hand and is striving to achieve health equity for AAPIs.

Jacqui Sadashige is a Senior Lecturer in the Critical Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Having earned a BA in Fine Arts, and MA in English, and a PhD in Classical Studies, she is an intellectually diverse scholar-professor who currently focuses on contemporary popular culture, particularly the ways in which it reflects and refracts our shifting views on gender, race, and species. In addition to teaching about culture, Jacqui also engages her interests actively as a staff member of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival and an Elephant Ambassador for the Save Elephant Foundation in Thailand. Jacqui can also often be found at a gym. As a health and fitness professional who has been certified in yoga and a number of fitness formats for over a decade, she currently teaches classes at several local health clubs.

Nina Ahmad, Ph.D., is the Deputy Mayor for Public Engagement for the City of Philadelphia and the co-founder and previously served as the Executive Vice President of Government Affairs of JNA Capital, Inc., a real estate development and finance company based in Philadelphia. She has been appointed by President Obama to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and appointed by Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia to the Chair of the Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs. Nina was a founding member of the Asian Mosaic Fund giving circle, and also sits on the Diversity Committee of William Penn Charter School and was one of the founding members of Asian Pacific Americans for Progress. Dr.Ahmad received her Doctoral degree in 1990 from the Chemistry Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow with noted collagen expert, Darwin Prockop, M.D., Ph.D. at Thomas Jefferson University. She currently resides in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia with her husband Ahsan Nasratullah and two daughters.

Please see this site for a list of hotels near Jefferson’s Center City campus: http://hospitals.jefferson.edu/patients-and-visitors/center-city/hotels-and-lodging/

For a campus map, driving directions, and parking directions, please see this site: http://www.jefferson.edu/directions/TJU_campus_map.cfm

The Hamilton Building is located at the intersection of Locust St. and 11th St. The entrance is on the east side of the building, on Locust St. between 11th and 10th streets.

Public Transit: Jefferson is only 0.5 miles from 11th St/Jefferson Station, which is accessible by both the SEPTA Market-Frankford subway line and Regional Rail services. Fare for a single ride is $2.25, and tokens can be bought at any SEPTA station (cash in exact change). Once at Jefferson station, exit onto 11th street and walk south towards Locust St. to get to the Hamilton Building.

From 30th St. Station: Take the SEPTA Market-Frankford subway line east towards Frankford Transportation Center, and get off at 11th St. station.

From the Philadelphia International Airport: Take the airport train line (which stops at every terminal) towards Center City Philadelphia, and get off the train at Jefferson Station. Tickets can be bought on board the train for $8, or they can be bought at Jefferson Station for $7.

For more public transit directions, please see this site: http://www.jefferson.edu/directions/TJU_public_transportation.cfm