2024 National Health Research Forum
The 2024 National Health Research Forum: Straight Talk, took place from Tuesday, September 17, 2024, to Wednesday, September 18, 2024.
For nearly 30 years, Research!America has held an annual National Health Research Forum that gathers top federal officials, leaders from academia, patient advocacy, industry, and the philanthropic community, and distinguished national media to take an unvarnished look at issues vital to the wellbeing of our nation, our economy, and patients across the globe.
In 2024, more than 40 speakers including high-ranking governmental officials joined us over two days, September 17 and 18, in sessions aimed at capturing the power of research & development to revolutionize health and health care, explore new and potentially overlooked opportunities and challenges, and confront current and looming health threats. View photos from the Forum. Click on the dropdowns below to explore the agenda, speakers, and recordings from each day.
Event Details
Please visit the playlist in the upper right-hand corner to find the session you want to watch.
11:40 a.m. — Welcome and Opening Remarks
- Mary Woolley, President and CEO, Research!America
11:45 a.m. — Washington Update
Moderator:
- Ellie Dehoney, Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, Research!America
Speaker:
- Sudip Parikh, PhD, CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
12:20 p.m. — Exploring Innovations in Health Systems Research
- Robert Valdez, PhD, MHSA, Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
12:35 p.m. — Strengthening the STEM Workforce for a Competitive Future
Moderator:
- Keith Yamamoto, PhD, Professor Emeritus; Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy; Director,
UCSF Precision Medicine
Speaker:
- Cortez Bowlin, PhD, Dr. Louis Sullivan Fellow, Research!America
- Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH, Chief Scientific Officer, Association of American Medical Colleges
- Darío Gil, PhD, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, IBM
- Sethuraman Panchanathan, PhD, Director, National Science Foundation
1:15 p.m. — Keynote
- Dawn O’Connell, JD, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)
1:30 p.m. — Accelerating Innovation Through Clinical Trials: Patients, Regulators, and Research
Moderator:
- Erin Schumaker, Future of Health Care Reporter, POLITICO
Speaker:
- Nakela Cook, MD, MPH, Executive Director, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
- Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, President and Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for the NIH
- Meghana Chalasani, MHA, Associate Director, Clinical Trial Innovation at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
2:10 p.m. — Special Remarks: CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen
- Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
2:55 pm — Fostering Patient Engagement: A Catalyst for Research Innovation
Moderator:
- Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, American Public Health Association
Speaker:
- Erika Bilger, Director of Research Advocacy, Fight Colorectal Cancer
- Katie Robertson, PhD, Disease Area Network Lead for Oncology, Roche Diagnostics
3:30 pm — Mental Health and the Ripple Effect: Navigating Comorbidities
Moderator:
- Ellen Barry, Correspondent, New York Times
Speaker:
- Arthur Evans, PhD, CEO & EVP, American Psychological Association
- Josh Gordon, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University; Executive Director, New York State Psychiatric Institute
- Charles Nguyen, MD, Medical Director and Founder, Lorphen Medical Weight Loss Clinic
- Maria Ryan, DDS, PhD, Vice President and Chief Dental Officer, Colgate-Palmolive Company
4:15 pm — Building Trust in Health and Science with Effective Messaging and Messengers
Moderator:
- Jenny Luray, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Public Engagement, Research!America
Speaker:
- Phyllis Arthur, MBA, Chairman, Senior Vice President for Infectious Diseases and Emerging Science Policy, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
- Tracey Brown, OBE, Director, Sense About Science
- Reed Tuckson, MD, FACP, Board Chair, Coalition for Trust in Health & Science
- Amanda Yarnell, Senior Director, Center for Health Communication, and Instructor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2:00 p.m. — Opening Remarks
- Mary Woolley, President and CEO, Research!America
- Barbara Bass, MD, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, Dean, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University
2:15 p.m. — Navigating the Intersection of AI and Drug Development: Opportunities and Challenges
Moderator:
- Daniel Vergano, Senior Opinion Editor, Scientific American
Speaker:
- Aida Habtezion, MD, MSc, Chief Medical Officer,Pfizer
- Marius Linguraru, DPhil, MA, MSc, Connor Family Professor and Chair of Research and
Innovation, Children's National Hospital - Laurie E. Locascio, PhD, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology; Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Dave Reese, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Amgen
3:18 p.m. — Nutrition and Health in the U.S.; A National Survey Review Fireside Chat
Moderator:
- Mary Woolley, President and CEO, Research!America
Speaker:
- Pamela Schwartz, MPH, Executive Director for Community Health, Kaiser Permanante
- Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, Research Lead, Health Care by Food, American Heart Association
3:40 p.m. — Revolutionizing Medicine: The Promise of Novel Therapies and the Future of Innovation
Moderator:
- Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD, A. Eugene and Marie Washington Presidential Distinguished Professor; Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Speaker:
- Matthew Hall, PhD, Scientific Director, NCATS
- Peter Marks, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA
- Dave Soergel, MD, Global Head, Cardio-Metabolic Development, Novartis
4:28 p.m. — Keynote
- Monica Bertagnolli, MD, Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
4:50 p.m — Closing Remarks
- Mary Woolley, President and CEO, Research!America
5-7 p.m. — Reception (The George Washington University)
Support the Event
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Thank You to Our Sponsors
Past Forums
To view the event details for our past National Health Research Forums, please select the link for the year indicated.
2023 National Health Research Forum
2022 National Health Research Forum
2021 National Health Research Forum
2020 National Health Research Forum
2019 National Health Research Forum
2018 National Health Research Forum
2017 National Health Research Forum
2016 National Health Research Forum
2015 National Health Research Forum
2014 National Health Research Forum
2013 National Health Research Forum
2012 National Health Research Forum
2011 National Health Research Forum
2010 National Health Research Forum
2009 National Health Research Forum
2008 National Health Research Forum
2007 National Health Research Forum
2006 National Health Research Forum
2005 National Health Research Forum