Monday, October 13, 2025

8:00 am

Registration Open and Light Breakfast

9:00 am - 10:00 am 

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Keynote Address - Facing Challenges, Fostering Hope: Appalachians Respond to the Opioid Epidemic
Theresa Burriss, PhD, Appalachian Studies Scholar, Emory & Henry University

10:00 am - 10:15 am

Break and Visit Exhibitors

10:15 am - 11:45 am

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Behavioral Science and Health Behaviors (Substance Use, Nutrition, Exercise, Smoking, etc.)

A Qualitative Investigation of How Young Adults Would Respond to an Age Restricted Location Policy
Megan Roberts, PhD – The Ohio State University

Substance Use Disorder: Stigma Experience and Treatment Adherence
Lisa Calderwood, MPH – CAMC Institute for Academic Medicine

Leveraging Community-Engaged GIS Dashboards to Understand Maternal and Child Health Disparities in North Carolina
Qian Huang, PhD, MA, MPA – East Tennessee State University

Clinical and Translational Research

Community Co-design of Health Research Intervention Materials to Reduce Cervical Cancer Disparities in Appalachia
Treah S. Haggerty, MD – West Virginia University

Increasing Future Rural Healthcare Providers’ Knowledge of Clinical and Translational Science through the West Virginia Area Health Education Centers Rural Community Health Scholars Program
Heather Lysbeth Henderson, EdD, MSHCM, MA, PMP – West Virginia University

Appalachia's Unique Maternal Care Context: Types of Social Support and Their Effect on Postpartum Depression
Julia Mackessy, MA – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Behavioral Science and Health Behaviors (Substance Use, Nutrition, Exercise, Smoking, etc.)

Forecasting Opioid and Stimulant Co-Involved Fatality Rates Using Machine Learning Models in West Virginia
Chisom Eze, BPharm – West Virginia University

Project RISE (Resilience In an Opioid Stricken Environment)
Joshua Adams, APSS, CCHW – University of Kentucky

Using a Community-Engaged Approach to Develop a Lung Cancer Prevention and Risk Reduction Intervention for Appalachian Women
Jessica Thompson, PhD, MEd – The Pennsylvania State University

Health Literacy and Health Communication

Information Highway: Mapping the Routes of Health Professionals' Knowledge Sharing
Jennifer Tyson, MPH – Appalachian State University

Lessons Learned from Recruiting Adolescents for Research on Vaping Messages
Rose Wesche, PhD – Virginia Tech

Risk Communication for Hispanic/Latinx Persons Living in Northeast Tennessee: Lessons Learned during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Mildred Maisonet, PhD – East Tennessee State University

11:45 am - 12:00 pm

Break and Visit Exhibitors

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm 

Lunch Plenary - Improving the Health of Vulnerable Populations in Appalachia through Partnership: The Appalachian Access Project
Scott Duane Rhodes, PhD, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
John Chaffin, Western North Carolina Aids Project (WNCAP)

1:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Break and Visit Exhibitors

1:45 pm - 3:15 pm 

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Behavioral Science and Health Behaviors (Substance Use, Nutrition, Exercise, Smoking, etc.)

Substance Use Disorder Collaboration: WVCTSI Project ECHO and WVU Center of Excellence for Addiction
Jay Mason, MPA – WV Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Dementia Caregiving in Appalachia: Preliminary Findings from Care Ex
Brandy Renee McCann, PhD – Virginia Tech

Implementation of a Community-Centered Environmental Change Project to Increase Access to Sunscreen and Decrease Melanoma and Skin Cancer Incidence in West Virginia
Lauren Wright, DSL, MPH – West Virginia University Cancer Institute

Translational Health, Informatics, Telemedicine, and Data-Driven Technologies

Assessing and Addressing Root Causes of Population Health in Central Appalachian Virginia
David L. Driscoll, PhD, MPH – University of Virginia, College at Wise

Machine Learning for Kentucky’s Appalachian Counties: Interactions Between Physician Availability, Poverty, Region, and Health Outcomes
Emma Hargis, BS – University of Kentucky

Telehealth Implementation Within a Rural Area Agency on Aging
Anthony Nappi, PT, RN – University of Virginia

Training, Education, and Workforce Development

Healthy WAY - An Innovative Rural Health Research and Workforce Pathway for High School Students
Beth Bowling, RN – University of Kentucky
Mace Baker - UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health

Students Striving Toward Better Health in Self and Community
Michaela Amburgey, CCHW – University of Kentucky
William Mace Baker, BA, RN – University of Kentucky

Clinical Conditions/Diseases (Cancer, Mental Health, Diabetes, etc.)

Prevalence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Appalachian Medicare Fee-For-Service Population
Courtney Perry, DO, MS – University of Kentucky HealthCare

Substance Use Disorder among Cancer Patients in Appalachia
Madison Marsee, MPH – East Tennessee State University

The Increasing Rurality of Appalachia and Its Impact on Observed Mortality: Results of an Update to the Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) System
Eugene Lengerich, VMD, MS – Penn State University

3:15 pm - 3:30 pm 

Break and Visit Exhibitors

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Disease Prevention and Treatment (Drug Development, Mental Health, Pain Management, etc.)

Participants’ Perceptions of the Acceptability of a Digital Health Intervention to Reduce Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake: A Mixed Methods Summative Evaluation of iSIPsmarter.
Donna Brock – University of Virginia

Medical-Dental Integration for Cancer Control Priorities: Perceptions and Action of Oral Health Professionals
Kathleen Porter, PhD, RDN – University of Virginia

Characterizing Utilization of Diabetes Care and Support Consultations in Veterans with Type 2 Diabetes
Ashley V. Parks, DrPH, MPH, MBA, MTech, CPH, CPHQ

Community Engagement and Access to Optimal Health

Medicaid Expansion Regional Support Specialists: An Approach to Connecting Patients to Coverage
Ariah Brown – North Carolina Community Health Center Association
Abby Cope – North Carolina Community Health Center Association

Rooted in Community: Culturally Tailored Navigation and Education to Improve Breast Cancer Outcomes Among Amish and Mennonite Women
Melissa Thomas, PhD, MSPH, MSA, MCHES, C.CHW – Center for Appalachia Research in Cancer Education

Marital Status and Readiness for Advance Care Planning in Appalachian States: A Sub-analysis of the Project Talk Trial
Heather Costigan, BS – Penn State University, Hershey

Environmental Health

Identifying High-Priority Areas for Surveillance of Risks from Soil-borne Bacterial Pathogens in the Contiguous United States
Emily Matthews – Virginia Tech

The Impacts of Hurricane Helene on Queer Communities in Appalachia
Lilli Mann-Jackson, MPH – Wake Forest University School of Medicine
John Chaffin, Western North Carolina Aids Project (WNCAP)

Environmental Substance Exposure in Children of Substance-Using Parents: A Hair Testing Pilot to Understand Population Trends and Future Directions
Mary Hedrick, PhD – East Tennessee State University

Evidence-Based Practice

Adapting and Scaling Tick-Borne Disease Prevention: Strategies from the Ticks in Virginia Initiative
Jenny Hall, EdD, MCHES – Radford University

FIRST Year Results of an Appalachia VAMC Lung Cancer Screening Program Showing 2.5x the Prevalence of Lung Cancers Found During the National Lung Screening Trial
Sabrina Thomas, AGNP-C – Asheville VAMC

From Access to Impact: A Tiered, Collaborative Framework for Rural Youth Mental Health
Kaitlyn Bruns, PhD, LPCC-S, NCC – University of Cincinnati