Welcome to 2024!  I hope the Genomics Forum will become your professional home. Please allow me to introduce myself. I joined the forum during my second year as a doctoral student at Texas A&M University. Since 2017, I have been part of the leadership team and have served on various roles such as membership and communication co-chair & chair, program co-chair & chair as well as co-chair of the forum. For me, the Genomics Forum serves as a space that fosters my academic development. Thanks to this forum, I've had the chance to connect with numerous leading researchers in Public Health Genomics. The friendships forged through the forum add an extra layer of excitement to the APHA annual meeting each year. I hope you all have had similar positive experiences with the Genomics Forum as well.

 

First, I want to acknowledge and thank our immediate past Chair, Dr. Karen Niemchick, for her leadership. Under her guidance, we recruited new members (particularly college students and early-career investigators), revamped and modernized all communication channels (including the website and newsletters), and formulated a new governing document. Additionally, we rebranded the Policy Committee as the Research, Education, and Policy Committee (REP), a change that was voted on and approved during last year's business meeting.

 

Second, I would also like to express gratitude to both past and present members of the leadership team for their dedicated efforts in maintaining the forum's presence within APHA. Although there were numerous challenges during the pandemic, we successfully increased our visibility and involvement in APHA through various avenues such as presenter & forum awards, abstract submissions, scientific sessions, forum business meetings, policy statements, newsletters, and our new website. 

 

Third, I want to congratulate the 2023 Genomics Forum award recipients. Thank you for all your incredible contributions to the field of Public Health Genomics. As Chair of the forum, I also want to thank all members of the Genomics Forum for your ongoing support. I am also pleased to see that there are more and more people with diverse backgrounds joining our forum.

 

Fourth, as part of our national organization, we are striving to position the Genomics Forum as a leader in the field of Public Health Genomics. As such, members can expect receiving regular communications, engaging in discussions and having opportunities for participation. If it has been some time since we last connected, I would like to personally invite you to reach out to us. We welcome both returning and new members to join us in our research and community engagement endeavors. I look forward to working with the new leadership team and all forum members to promote genomic related research, education, and practice.

 

Last, the 2024 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo will take place in Minneapolis, MN from Oct. 27-30, 2024. APHA Genomics Forum is now accepting abstracts for oral and poster presentations, and the submission deadline is March 29, 2024. For more information about abstract submission, please visit: https://apha.confex.com/apha/2024/genf.htm. I look forward to meeting with you at the APHA annual meeting!

 

Respectfully,

 

Shixi Zhao, PhD, CHES

Genomics Forum Chair