The Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC) has announced details for its 8th Annual Community Forum. This year’s theme is “Community Health Connections: Bridging Gaps in Cancer through Conversations.”
The forum will be held from 9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Arturo Velasquez Institute, the satellite campus of Richard J. Daley College, 2800 S. Western Ave. in Chicago. Presentations will be held in English, Spanish, Cantonese and American Sign Language. The event is free and open to the public. Participants are required to sign-up in advance through forms in English/Spanish or English/Cantonese to attend. Free lunch and on-site parking will be provided to confirmed attendees. Please note: Wearing a face mask is strongly encouraged to ensure a safe space for all attendees.
Northeastern Professor of Economics Christina Ciecierski and Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics Lidia Filus are Co-Principal Investigators of the ChicagoCHEC grant for the University.
"Only through partnership and engagement with our city's underserved can we foster meaningful cancer research, education and training that appropriately addresses health equity issues,” said Filus. “By serving the most diverse populations of students, NEIU is well-positioned to reach out to these communities and encourage them to actively participate and engage in this partnership."
Over the years, ChicagoCHEC has brought the Northeastern community a wide-rage of programs and opportunities, including the annual Women in Science Conference, virtual study halls and summer data camps at which students develop necessary skills for advanced research experiences offered at Northeastern and beyond.
“We are very proud of the fact that, since 2016, 97% of students who were enrolled at Northeastern as undergraduates during their work with ChicagoCHEC have completed their degrees,” Ciecierski said. “These students earned degrees in economics, geography and psychology, among other disciplines that directly impact the field of healthcare. We know the opportunities these students were given through ChicagoCHEC propelled their academic trajectories and are confident the next group of students who participate in our programs will be impacted in similar ways.”
In 2021, the National Cancer Institute awarded a five-year, $17.7 million grant renewal to ChicagoCHEC. The program is a partnership led by Northwestern University, the University of Illinois Chicago and Northeastern. Its mission is to advance cancer health equity through meaningful scientific discovery, education, training and community engagement.
