March 2024 Page 15 CDU Newsletter
The Office of the President and The Urban Health Institute hosted the Dr . Erik Fleming Annual Lecture which honored the legacy of Dr . Fleming and his work in health disparities research .
Annual Dr . Erik Fleming Annual Lecture Discusses Colorectal Care
“ The lecture serves as an inspiration for current and future generations of students ,” said Caroline Farodolu , Urban Health Institute Program Director . “ By exposing them to influential figures and cutting-edge ideas , the event motivates students to pursue excellence in their academic and professional endeavors .”
This year ’ s featured speaker was Dr . Gifty Kawayke , Arthur
W . Fleming , M . D . Research Professor , Assistant Dean of Clinical Medical Education , and Associate Professor in the Division of Colorectal Surgery at the University of Michigan .
Her presentation was titled “ Global Surgery , Local Impact : Transforming Colorectal Care in Regions .”
Resource-Constrained
“ I hope to evoke some empathy in folks in the audience today ,” said Dr . Kawayke . “ I really hope by the end of this talk we feel moved to become part of this engagement or activism that is going on around this in terms of how do we improve access , how do we improve things for
CDU Quick Takes
folks globally around colorectal care .”
The Dr . Erik Fleming lecture is held each February and promotes awareness and engages discussions around health disparities , placebased research , and health policy for the advancement of underserved and underresourced communities .
Dr . Fleming was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at CDU .
His primary research interests were related to the utilization of technology to improve chronic disease management in underserved communities .
• CDU Hosted Representative Maxine Waters on Campus for a Watts / WIllowbrook listening session . The area recently returned to the 43rd Congressional District .
• Dr . Omolola Ogunyemi was announced as Chair of the National Library of Medicine Board of Regents for 2024-2025 .
• CDU hosted the Compton Community Helath Professions Partnership Forum and Resource Fair in collaboration with Assemblymember Mike Gipson .
• CDU hosted the HBCU College Fair and Conference on campus . More than 300 scholars from Compton Unified ’ s four high schools - Centennial , Compton , Compton Early College , and Dominguez – attended several different career panels and had the opportunity to learn more about 30 different HBCUs .
• CDU held a live informational discussion on campus about Lupus and the kidneys in partnership with Senator Steven Bradford .
• College of Medicine hosted the Annual Medical Student Research Colloquium in the Keck Auditorium .