Monday, December 1, 2025
5:30PM – 7:30PM
Venue
New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029
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Monday, December 8, 2025
5:30pm-7:30pm
Venue
New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
New York, NY 10029
The event is free; advance registration is required.
Register
To commemorate the 38th annual World AIDS DAY 2025 at NYAM, two scholars will debate the contentious legacy of Dr. Peter Duesberg, a retrovirologist at the University of California, Berkeley who challenged the dogma that HIV causes AIDS. Join Dr. William Summers, MD, PhD, professor emeritus Yale University and Tyler Harvey, AIDS activist and Yale MD-PhD student, as they dissect perspectives of this contentious public debate.
Today’s debates over vaccination, COVID-19 origins, protocols, and treatment evoke similar questions about medical trust and knowledge-making.
Agenda
| 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm | Reception |
| 6:00 pm – 6:05 pm | Opening Remarks |
| 6:05 pm – 7:00 pm | Panel Discussion |
| 7:00 pm – 7:25 pm | Question and Answer |
| 7:25 pm – 7:30 pm | Closing Remarks |
Speakers
William Summers, MD, PhD
Professor William C. Summers’ interests range from molecular biology to Chinese culture and history. A well-published researcher in virology and in the history of science and medicine, Professor Summers earned both his M.D. and his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin in 1967. He joined the Yale faculty in 1968. Professor Summers has held fellowships and visiting faculty positions at major research universities in the United States, Sweden, Great Britain, and China; he serves on numerous panels and editorial boards.
He first traveled to the People’s Republic of China in 1980 with the Yale delegation that re-established the medical exchange program with the Hunan Medical College. Professor Summers has done extensive research on Chinese public health and medicine, publishing articles on historic parallels between Chinese and Western medical development, Chinese government medical policy, and the Great Manchurian Plague.
At Yale, students enjoy Professor Summers’ Freshman seminar, “Epidemics in Global Perspective,” which deals with historical issues of policy and epidemic disease. He also teaches a seminar on the history of Chinese science in which he deals with Chinese concepts of the natural world, Asian technological development, and East-West scientific interactions, as well as courses on the history of molecular biology, and the history of physical sciences since Newton.
Tyler D. Harvey
Tyler Harvey is an MD/PhD candidate at Yale University. Tyler is pursuing a PhD in the Social and Behavioral Sciences department at the Yale School of Public Health and within the SEICHE Center for Health and Justice, an academic center dedicated to studying and intervening on the health harms of mass incarceration.
At Yale, Tyler has held leadership roles across health justice initiatives, including serving as a student leader in the US Health Justice elective and as an advisor to the Health Equity Thread. Tyler has served as a research fellow with both the Yale LGBTQ+ Mental Health Initiative and the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at the Yale Law School. Tyler served on Yale’s Presidential Search Student Advisory Council from 2023 to 2024 and was named a 2025 Health Policy Research Scholar by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Their scholarship appears in JAMA Network Open, American Journal of Public Health, and Social Science & Medicine, and has informed policy and practice at organizations such as the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the World Health Organization. As a former Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project, Tyler has published widely on health equity in national media outlets including The Hill and Newsweek.
Tyler has been involved in public health community work and research related to HIV for years; first within community organizations in Memphis, TN and Flatbush, Brooklyn to increase HIV testing among LGBTQ+ populations; then through an academic-community research partnership in New Haven, CT to implement a group-based mental health therapy to decrease HIV risk among gay and bisexual men of color; and most recently, as a volunteer with Black and Pink in NYC, a prison abolitionist organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ and HIV+ individuals currently incarcerated. One of their most recent op-eds published in Newsweek argued for the inclusion of incarerated individuals within current HIV elimination efforts.
A first-generation college graduate from the rural South, Tyler holds a BA in Urban Studies from Rhodes College and an MPH from the Yale School of Public Health.
Venue
This will be a virtual event. Login information will be included in your confirmation email.
The event is free; advance registration is required.
Register
Childhood vaccination coverage in the United States has fallen below 93% for the first time in decades, well under the 95% threshold needed to maintain herd immunity. Meanwhile, measles cases have surged to their highest levels in thirty years. Despite clear evidence linking declining rates to rising exemptions and misinformation campaigns, the full impact on pediatric health outcomes remains incompletely understood. This workshop will delve into recent trends in pediatric vaccination and prenatal screening, identify the social and political barriers driving these changes, and highlight emerging strategies to safeguard maternal and child wellbeing in a shifting public health landscape
Speakers
Sonia Djafri, PA-C
Sonia Djafri, PA-C, is a Labor and Delivery Physician Assistant at Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian, where she provides care across obstetrics, gynecology, and perinatal services. She is passionate about advancing women’s health, addressing healthcare disparities, and creating visibility for PAs in the field of obstetrics. Beyond clinical care, Sonia mentors PA students and has organized multiple fundraisers to support her hospital’s women’s health clinic. She believes in combining compassion and evidence-based care to empower both patients and providers.
Nadia Khan, BS
Education: BS from Cornell University
Research/Clinical area: refugee health, immunology, cancer
Advocacy area: refugee health equity, gender disparities, pipeline program
Sri Sravya Gudipati, BS
Education: BS from California Polytechnic University
Research/Clinical area: Physician Assistant Studies
Advocacy area: healthcare disparities, advocacy for the unhoused.
Venue
This will be a virtual event. Login information will be included in your confirmation email.
The event is free; advance registration is required.
Register
Artificial intelligence is redefining the landscape of healthcare, and nursing must stand at the forefront of this transformation. This session illuminates the profound implications of AI for hospitals and nursing schools, offering leaders a clear vision of how AI is being used, equipping faculty with strategies to prepare the next generation of nurses, and empowering students to graduate with the knowledge and skills to excel academically, clinically, and as future leaders. By unmasking AI, we position nursing not only to adapt to change but to shape it, ensuring the profession remains a driving force in improving outcomes and advancing health equity. Forward thinking nursing leaders, educators, and students will want to attend.
Through interactive Ted-style talks and hands-on breakout sessions, attendees will gain practical strategies to integrate AI into hospital leadership, curriculum development, and academic success. This essential event empowers nursing professionals not just to adapt to AI-driven change, but to actively shape the future of healthcare while advancing patient outcomes and health equity.
Speakers
Dr. Olga Kagan
Olga Kagan, PhD, RN, FHIMSS, FAAAAI, FIEL, is a nurse educator, scientist and entrepreneur. She teaches at two New York-based universities, contributes to textbooks, mentors nurses, and advises start-ups. Dr. Kagan founded the Food Allergy Nursing Interest Professional Group and co-founded SONSIEL’s Collaborative Healthcare Innovation, Research & Problem Solving (CHIRPS). As a recognized thought leader, she has served on several committees and boards in various positions, including with HIMSS, SONSIEL, ANA, NYAM, AAAAI, and ENRS. She has received multiple awards for her contributions to nursing leadership, mentorship, research, and was featured on HIMSS TV, the AAAAI and Outcomes Rocket podcasts.
Dr. Kathleen McGrow
Dr. Kathleen McGrow is the Global Chief Nursing Innovation Officer at Microsoft, where she leads strategic initiatives in digital health transformation. Her work focuses on addressing workforce challenges, enhancing patient and provider engagement, and advancing cognitive computing to support a learning health system.
Dr. McGrow earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. With a background in trauma critical care and health IT, she brings deep expertise to the intersection of clinical practice and emerging technologies. She is a recognized thought leader in the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare, with notable publications including “Foundation Models, Generative AI, and Large Language Models: Essentials for Nursing” and “Implications of Artificial Intelligence for Nurse Managers.” Her most recent work is her book, “Empowering Nurses with Technology: A Practical Guide to Nurse Informatics,” published in January 2025.
In addition to her role at Microsoft, Dr. McGrow co-chairs the HIMSS Nursing Innovation Advisory Committee and serves as an adjunct clinical instructor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing.
Dr. Delaney La Rosa
Delaney La Rosa, EdD, MSN Ed, RN, is an educator and academic leader bridging clinical practice, digital innovation, and equity-centered curriculum, with extensive experience in program evaluation and accreditation that has shaped transformative nursing education. Formerly the Associate Dean of Nursing and Steinbronn Endowed Professor at Northern Arizona University, Dr. La Rosa led initiatives in inclusive teaching, AI integration in healthcare education, and faculty development, with a teaching focus on healthcare informatics, leadership, and AI. Nationally recognized for research and speaking on ethical AI in nursing and education, their scholarship aligns emerging technologies with human-centered, accessible approaches, including recent work on AI literacy for nurses and equitable learning models, and contributions to national frameworks for AI adoption in nursing. Dr. La Rosa has also played a key role in CCNE and state board accreditation reviews, ensuring curriculum alignment with national standards and demonstrating expertise in outcomes-based assessment, curriculum mapping, and quality improvement for accreditation readiness, all while dedicated to advancing the nursing profession through digital innovation, education, and research at FSU.
Monday, October 20, 2025
5:30PM-7:00PM
Venue
This will be a virtual event. Login information will be included in your confirmation email.
The event is free; advance registration is required.
