From Research to Real Impact: Transforming Academic Pursuits Into Health Policy Change (Social EM and Population Health Interest Group-Sponsored)

This session guides emergency medicine physicians on how their academic work can influence health policy and drive meaningful change. Emphasizing the pivotal role physicians can play in shaping policy through research, advocacy, and leadership, participants will be introduced to evidence-based advocacy strategies. Using case studies, frameworks, and insights from experts, attendees will learn how to bridge the gap between academia and policy, making an impact at local, state, and national levels. The session will also address the challenges and opportunities of translating academic research into effective health policy.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Analyze the intersection of academic research and health policy, and evaluate the role of academic physicians in shaping health policy.
  • Introduce a framework that can guide healthcare professionals in transitioning from academic research to policy advocacy.
  • Evaluate tangible opportunities for academic physicians, informed by the successful transitions of policy makers.
  • Reflect on lessons learned from tangible examples and develop actionable steps for integrating policy changes into academic work.

Presenters:

  • Giovanni Rodriguez, MD
  • Tanesha Beckford, MD
  • Trenika J. Williams, MD, MS
  • Haeyeon Hong, MD
  • Alden Landry, MD, MPH
Authors
  • Giovanni Rodriguez

    Giovanni Rodriguez, MD

    Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital

    Giovanni Rodriguez, MD was most recently the chief resident in the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Mass General Brigham in Boston, MA. She is now a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School and faculty in Emergency Medicine at Mass General Hospital. She is also a current Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy, Dr. Rodriguez has pursued innovative initiatives to address systemic health care disparities particularly for patients with limited English proficiency. Within the field of Emergency Medicine, she aspires to expand access to patients by strengthening programs that enhance the discharge processes, facilitate effective communication, and improve medical training health equity education. Dr. Rodriguez serves as chair of Residents and Fellows Committee for Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Massachusetts General Hospital. She received the 2023 DEI Resident Education/Innovation Award from the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine. She was a prior RAMS Board Member-at-Large and RAMS Board liaison to the ED Administration and Clinical Operations Committee, and currently serves as the AWAEM Didactic Committee Co-Chair.

  • Tanesha Beckford, MD

    Brigham and Women's Hospital

    Tanesha Beckford is an instructor at Harvard Medical School, and Emergency Medicine faculty at the Massachusetts General Brigham, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is currently a Presidential Scholar in Health Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a member of the City of Boston’s youth civic engagement council at Spark Boston. She completed residency at Boston Medical Center (BMC), where she served as Chair of the Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee. She is the immediate past Chair- Elect of the EMRA Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and the co-founder of the Annual Health Justice Conference at her medical alma mater. Her research background includes shared decision making, professional advancement amongst diverse physicians, implementing violence prevention and intervention practices, and improving patient outcomes through equitable healthcare pathways. Her interests include mentorship, community outreach, social justice and creating inclusive spaces that amplify the voices of the underrepresented.

  • Trenika J. Williams, MD, MS

    Harvard Medical School

    Trenika J. Williams, MD MS completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center in 2024. She has consistently led efforts in advocacy and community programming for the advancement of health equity, primarily focusing on mentorship, pipeline programming, community health education, and violence intervention. Dr. Williams has a particular interest in prehospital medicine and emergency medical services. She aims to work within an urban academic medical center providing care for underserved populations, disenfranchised youth, and those most greatly impacted by systemic inequities. She aspires to equip her community with both knowledge and systemic change through needed policy implementation that will result in increased health in the community as a whole. Dr. Williams was elected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society at the Geisel School of Medicine in 2021 and inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in 2022. She was selected as a Community Champion by the University of Chicago’s Urban Health Initiative in 2022 on basis of her proven record of leadership in community engagement and honored with the University of Chicago Emergency Medicine’s Community Engagement Award in 2024. Dr. Williams served on the National Board of Directors of the Student National Medical Association as a Regional Director. She currently serves on the board of the MedCEEP (Medical Careers Exposure and Emergency Preparedness) Initiative, a community-based nonprofit designed to increase the number of youth on the South Side of Chicago who possess lifesaving health emergency response skills. Dr. Williams earned her medical degree from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in 2021.

  • Haeyeon Hong, MD, MS

    Boston University School of Medicine

    Haeyeon Hong, MD, MS, is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. She currently serves as the Local Health Equity Fellow at Boston Medical Center and as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy. Throughout her medical school and residency, she has led several innovative projects focused on the Social Drivers of Health (SDOH) Screening and Referral initiatives at Boston Medical Center. Driven by her deep-rooted commitment to health policy and health equity, Dr. Hong is determined to reimagine socially responsive emergency care with the goal of addressing disparities in care. She aspires to spearhead innovative approaches in harnessing SDOH data to elevate population health and advance value-based care. Dr. Hong served as the co-chair of the Social Emergency Medicine and Population Health Interest Group of SAEM for two consecutive years. Dr. Hong received her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 2019, and completed her emergency medicine residency at Boston Medical Center in 2023

  • Alden Landry, MD, MPH

    Dr. Landry is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Assistant Dean for the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership; Associate Director and Advisor for William B. Castle Society; and Director of Health Equity Education at Harvard Medical School. He also serves as Senior Faculty at the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and is the founder and co-director of the non- profit organization Motivating Pathways. He strives to lead efforts for the Department of Emergency Medicine, the hospital and the medical school that will address health disparities and improve quality of care for the most disenfranchised.

    In addition to his clinical interests, Dr. Landry is involved in research on Emergency Department utilization trends, disparities in care and quality of care. He also co-instructs a course at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and teaches cultural competency to residents and physicians. Dr. Landry promotes careers in the health professions to under-represented minorities and mentors, scores of pre-medical students, medical students, residents, fellows and junior faculty. Dr. Landry also leads the Tour for Diversity in Medicine, (www.tour4diversity.org) an effort to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine, dentistry, and other biomedical careers.

    Dr. Landry has been recognized by his peers and colleagues as a leader in health equity and social justice. He has received numerous awards for his public health work and efforts to promote health care workforce diversity. He was recently awarded the Outstanding Academician Award by the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine of the Society of Academic Emergency medicine and the Albert Frechette Award from the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

    Dr. Landry received his Bachelor of Science degree from Prairie View A&M University in 2002 and his medical degree from the University of Alabama in 2006. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in 2009. In 2010, he earned a Master’s in Public Health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University. He received the Disparities Solutions Center/Aetna Fellow in Health Disparities award in 2010-2011.

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