Webinar: Engaging Historically Underrepresented Asian Communities in Clinical Trials
Webinar: Engaging Historically Underrepresented Asian Communities in Clinical Trials
Originally recorded Thursday, October 20, 2022 | 11 AM - 12 PM CST
About the webinar
This program explores the root causes of the underrepresentation of Asian Americans in U.S. clinical trials. According to the FDA's 2015-2019 Drug Trials Snapshots Summary Report, Asian comprised just 2% of U.S. clinical trial participants while comprising 6% of the overall U.S. population. Additionally, the latest census bureau data indicated that 20 million Americans identified as "Asian," and another 4 million checked boxes as "Asian" combined with another race group, for a total of 7.2 percent of the population. The results make the Asian population the fastest growing racial group in the United States at 35.5%. Many of the nation's leading health equity advocates and clinical trial leaders are concerned with the underrepresentation of specific Asian subgroups, overall demographic trends, and a growing Asian population in the United States. These concerns stem from a variety of factors, including social determinants of health, P.I. and clinical trialist demographics, and cultural and linguistic pitfalls. This program convenes a group of clinical trial experts, providers, and DEI executives to discuss best practices and recommendations for making clinical trials more inclusive for Asian Americans.
Distinguished Speakers
Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, MD
Professor, Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center
Dr. Neelum T. Aggarwal, MD, is the Chief Diversity Officer at American Medical Women’s Association and Associate Professor, Departments of Neurological Sciences and the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center. She is the Senior Neurologist for the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (RADC), Research Director at the Rush Heart Center for Women, and serves as the Principal Investigator and Site Principal Investigator for multiple NIA funded research studies and consortia led clinical trials. Her work focuses on how sex, gender and social determinants of health are associated with risk, detection and treatment of cognitive changes associated with dementia. Dr. Aggarwal is a long-standing voice for community based research, clinical trial participation, public health initiatives, both in Chicago and nationally. She serves as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), and was past chair of the Governing Council of the American Medical Association- Women's Physician Section.
Currently, she co chairs the Inclusion, Diversity and Education in Alzheimer's Disease - Outreach and Policy subcommittee and the Advisory Group on Risk Evidence Education for Dementia. As the Strategic Advisor for the Science Runway, a Chicago Innovation Mentor (CIM) and past National Chair for the Women in Bio Mentoring, Advisors and Peers Committee, she is uniquely positioned to work with diverse groups of colleagues, mentor and sponsor women and men in the medical, life sciences and STEM sectors. She completed her medical degree from the Rosalind Franklin University - Chicago Medical School, completed her neurology residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and completed an aging and neurodegenerative disorders fellowship at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
Dr. Navneet Kathuria, MD, MPH, MBA
Chief Medical Officer, Regional Operations, Lumeris
Dr. Kathuria brings 25 years of experience in leadership positions in academic medicine, most notably as Chief Performance & Quality Officer at Baylor College of Medicine and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His principal areas of focus are on health care operations, population health, quality, and health care for the underserved. Dr. Kathuria has received several awards, including The Lorraine Tregde Patient Safety Leadership Award for his leadership and innovative approach to creating a culture of safety and clinical. In addition to his passion for quality he is also a recognized clinician educator, with a focus on the professional development of young physicians having won the Department of Medicine Teacher of Year Awards at New York University and at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. He was also a recipient of a grant from the Open Society Institute’s program focusing on professional development of medical students. He also serves a Board Member on CACF, an advocacy organization for Asian Children and Families based in New York City.
Dr. Hina Mehta, PhD, MBA
Director, University Programs, VIPC
Hina Mehta currently serves as Director for University Programs with Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation. In this role, she leads the development and execution of commercialization grant funding programs. Hina brings extensive experience in research to commercialization and was instrumental in shaping up the technology transfer program at George Mason University. At Mason, apart from leading several IP licensing deals, especially in life sciences, she also mentored faculty-led teams in customer discovery programs such as NSF I-Corps and ICAP. Prior to Mason, Hina has worked in biomedical research, in strategic consulting and co-founded a startup. She regularly serves as Technology Transition and Regulatory reviewer for several federally funded clinical trials programs. Hina volunteers with several nonprofits and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the steering committee for Asian American Health Initiative, Montgomery County MD. In this role, she advocates for health equity for Asian American community and CBOs from the county. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, and an MBA from the University of Maryland.
Webinar Leaders
Professor, Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center
Dr. Navneet Kathuria, MD, MPH, MBA
Chief Medical Officer, Regional Operations, Lumeris
Director, University Programs, VIPC
Joseph Gaspero is the CEO and Co-Founder of CHI. He is a healthcare executive, strategist, and researcher. He co-founded CHI in 2009 to be an independent, objective, and interdisciplinary research and education institute for healthcare. Joseph leads CHI’s research and education initiatives focusing on including patient-driven healthcare, patient engagement, clinical trials, drug pricing, and other pressing healthcare issues. He sets and executes CHI’s strategy, devises marketing tactics, leads fundraising efforts, and manages CHI’s Management team. Joseph is passionate and committed to making healthcare and our world a better place. His leadership stems from a wide array of experiences, including founding and operating several non-profit and for-profit organizations, serving in the U.S. Air Force in support of 2 foreign wars, and deriving expertise from time spent in industries such as healthcare, financial services, and marketing. Joseph’s skills include strategy, management, entrepreneurship, healthcare, clinical trials, diversity & inclusion, life sciences, research, marketing, and finance. He has lived in six countries, traveled to over 30 more, and speaks 3 languages, all which help him view business strategy through the prism of a global, interconnected 21st century. Joseph has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. When he’s not immersed in his work at CHI, he spends his time snowboarding backcountry, skydiving, mountain biking, volunteering, engaging in MMA, and rock climbing.