The California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) celebrated a decade of supporting cutting-edge biomedical and health research that prioritizes whole-person care and advances community-driven solutions to reduce health inequities.
Launched in 2015, CIAPM has supported, to date, 21 demonstration projects at 13 California institutions in the areas of cancer, depression, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their contribution to toxic stress, infection diagnosis, and artificial intelligence to monitor and manage multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and identify biomarkers for brain injury and rare diseases.
On April 10th, CIAPM hosted a panel to reflect on the impact of CIAPM’s research support over the years. Speakers included Dr. Charles Chiu (UCSF), Dr. George Slavich (UCLA), Dr. Neeta Thakur (UCSF), and Ysabel Duron (Latino Cancer Institute). Deputy Cabinet Secretary Richard Figueroa and CalHHS Undersecretary Corrin Buchanan provided opening and closing remarks.
Panelists shared both about the novel diagnostics and tools since CIAPM’s inception, as well as the lessons learned in engaging with community and obstacles overcome.
Panelists spoke about the unique niche CIAPM has been able to fill over the years, including supporting cross-sector harnessing of big data to inform precision diagnostics and supporting community health providers to bridge the gap between the community and the researchers.
Former advisor, Ysabel Duron, particularly felt that CIAPM-supported scientists have had first-hand experience to communicate their research ‘from the heart,’ sharing real-world, tangible impacts of how research participation directly impacts one’s life, developing trust and encouraging others far removed from science to engage with research.
The panelists spoke of providing scaled up impact of their work, including development of shared writings and best practices and engaging with state agencies and lawmakers to adopt and integrate new diagnostic tools.
To watch the full video recap of the event, please go to the CIAPM YouTube page.