Story - Parkinson - Forged in Crisis
An attendee asks a question at the interactive Salon 鈥�23 Data Science for Social Thinkers, a thought leadership event hosted by the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health on June 8, 2023. PHOTO BY EDDIE QUINONES
A Collaborative Approach to Improving Human Health
How 黑料门is bringing together diverse perspectives to solve real problems through three annual forums that elevate critical issues.
Less than 6 months before a global pandemic descended, 黑料门University Chicago launched its Parkinson School for Health Sciences and Public Health. Turns out, Parkinson’s innovative transdisciplinary approach – combining both traditional public health and clinical health professional training within the same school – was immediately relevant.
“For a public health school to be founded during a public health crisis was a unique experience,” says Elaine Morrato, Parkinson’s founding dean. “We were called to action to use our training, despite the uncertainty. We weren’t just founded; we were forged.”
Morrato draws a direct connection between society’s effort to rapidly deploy a COVID-19 vaccine – requiring coordinated collaboration across multiple sectors – and the way the Parkinson School is structured. While most universities offer both public health and clinical health degrees, they are typically segregated into separate schools. At Loyola, the programs under one roof accelerate collaboration and interdisciplinary learning.
“It is easy to default to either ‘we are public health’ or ‘we are healthcare delivery’ – but Parkinson is both, and that is what makes us unique. One of our fundamental beliefs is that we cannot solve complex problems alone,” Morrato says. “To think about systemic solutions to systemic challenges, you need diverse and sustained partnerships. You have to immerse yourself with people who touch the issue from every angle – including those who experience it. What we witnessed in 2020 and 2021 was a testament to how critical cross-sectoral collaboration is for advancing human health.”
One of the ways the Parkinson School teaches its students this critical lesson is by bringing together diverse groups – from multiple disciplines, sectors, regions, and life experiences – to facilitate dialogue in Chicago and beyond. These convenings take the form of three signature annual events attracting an uncommon collection of stakeholders.
黑料门University Chicago
The Pursuit of Purpose
What can be learned from Loyola鈥檚 153-year track record on social impact
Read the story
School of Environmental Sustainability
Accessible Science
Hands-on research in Chicago neighborhoods reveals disparities
Read the story
Quinlan School of Business
Ethics in the Wild
Teaching students to remain responsible in the business world
Read the StoryEach of these annually recurring forums builds on 黑料门University Chicago鈥檚 commitment to be a beacon for real-world solutions to health equity issues in Chicago and to ensure access to good health for all.
Health Equity Quest: Sparking innovation with a focus on equity
Students collaborate at the 2023 黑料门Health Equity Quest held in Chicago on Nov. 8, 2023. - PHOTO BY EDDIE QUINONES
Matter Chicago, a health care startup incubator, partners with a Parkinson initiative called the Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship to jumpstart small businesses and brainstorm new ideas aimed at closing long-standing health inequities.
Their partnership comes to life through an annual event called the 黑料门Chicago Health Equity Quest, which each year focuses on a topic related to the changing needs in society. In its first three years, the event focused on the intersection of health equity and emerging infectious diseases (2021), the intersection of health and rapid climate change (2022), and justice within health care systems and the natural environment (2023).
The event has also featured a 鈥淪hark Tank鈥�-style pitching contest before not just academics and students, but also venture capitalists, philanthropists, and others who support innovation and entrepreneurship. .
鈥淭his is an agenda-setting conversation, bringing together people who don鈥檛 normally come together,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥淚t has the power to spark innovations that can make people鈥檚 lives better 鈥� and that鈥檚 because it鈥檚 bringing together people who have varied capacities, from expertise in the health sciences and public health, to an understanding of developing and bringing a product to market, to an ability to assemble the funding and financing necessary to make that all happen. As the old saying goes: Success never happens alone.鈥�
黑料门Stands Against Gun Violence: Seeing beyond established ways of thinking
Hosted for the last four years, the annual summit brings together students, faculty, and community leaders with varied expertise and life experience to discuss ways to reduce violence in the Chicago area.
鈥淕un violence is a national public health crisis that greatly affects our Chicagoland community,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥淥ur event seeks to sustain focus on this critical problem by convening people from many different perspectives and walks of life who know the data, the issues, and the stories 鈥� they鈥檙e there to talk about real solutions.鈥�
Some of those voices include community representatives who have been directly impacted by gun violence. Others include keynote speakers from notable national groups such as March Fourth, Brady United, and Moms Demand Action 鈥� all nonprofits seeking policy solutions to gun violence. Still others include local government officials from the Chicago area, leaders from other health care institutions in Chicago, and criminal justice reformers from throughout the country.
All these groups and more joined representatives from across Loyola's interdisciplinary schools and programs 鈥� not just Parkinson, but also the University鈥檚 medical and law schools, the Institute for Translational Medicine, and the Health Sciences Ministry.
"There鈥檚 a reason why people say things like 鈥榯he epidemic of gun violence in America鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 because it actually is a societal public health epidemic,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥淎t Parkinson, one of the things that makes us unique is our focus on being community-centered and human-centered 鈥� we are here to serve others. We bring together both conventional and unconventional voices and emerging disciplines to have real conversations that transcend any one area of expertise. We believe that鈥檚 what will ultimately lead to better health outcomes for all.鈥�
Data Science for Social Thinkers Salon: Advancing health data science through a humanistic lens
Panelists at the Salon 鈥�23 Data Science for Social Thinkers, hosted by the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health on June 8, 2023, took a deep dive into the human side of data. - PHOTO BY EDDIE QUINONES
Underlying all health interventions and programs are data sets, but at the annual , the focus is on the human side of data.
鈥淎t a moment when artificial intelligence is making it possible to analyze massive data sets in moments, these human-centered conversations are increasingly relevant,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥満诹厦舏s known for its expertise in bioethics, and that is what we seek to advance. It鈥檚 about the ethics of data inclusion and how we can center the community鈥檚 voice in big data.鈥�
The data salon integrates both community voices, as well as unconventional voices, into a self-reflective conversation about health and data. For example, last year the event brought in artists to help participants with the humanistic understanding and expression of health data 鈥� 鈥渁 unique lens,鈥� according to Morrato.
At the salon 鈥� organized by a Parkinson initiative called the Center for Health Outcomes and Informatics Research, which strives to create a data-driven culture to improve health outcomes and health equity 鈥� speakers consider which people are included in their data sets and, just as critically, who isn鈥檛. They think through how to ethically collect and use data. Each of these annually recurring forums builds on 黑料门University Chicago鈥檚 commitment to be a beacon for real-world solutions to health equity issues in Chicago and to ensure access to good health for all.
Each of these annually recurring forums builds on 黑料门University Chicago鈥檚 commitment to be a beacon for real-world solutions to health equity issues in Chicago and to ensure access to good health for all.
Health Equity Quest: Sparking innovation with a focus on equity
Students collaborate at the 2023 黑料门Health Equity Quest held in Chicago on Nov. 8, 2023. - PHOTO BY EDDIE QUINONES
Matter Chicago, a health care startup incubator, partners with a Parkinson initiative called the Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship to jumpstart small businesses and brainstorm new ideas aimed at closing long-standing health inequities.
Their partnership comes to life through an annual event called the 黑料门Chicago Health Equity Quest, which each year focuses on a topic related to the changing needs in society. In its first three years, the event focused on the intersection of health equity and emerging infectious diseases (2021), the intersection of health and rapid climate change (2022), and justice within health care systems and the natural environment (2023).
The event has also featured a 鈥淪hark Tank鈥�-style pitching contest before not just academics and students, but also venture capitalists, philanthropists, and others who support innovation and entrepreneurship. .
鈥淭his is an agenda-setting conversation, bringing together people who don鈥檛 normally come together,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥淚t has the power to spark innovations that can make people鈥檚 lives better 鈥� and that鈥檚 because it鈥檚 bringing together people who have varied capacities, from expertise in the health sciences and public health, to an understanding of developing and bringing a product to market, to an ability to assemble the funding and financing necessary to make that all happen. As the old saying goes: Success never happens alone.鈥�
黑料门Stands Against Gun Violence: Seeing beyond established ways of thinking
Hosted for the last four years, the annual summit brings together students, faculty, and community leaders with varied expertise and life experience to discuss ways to reduce violence in the Chicago area.
鈥淕un violence is a national public health crisis that greatly affects our Chicagoland community,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥淥ur event seeks to sustain focus on this critical problem by convening people from many different perspectives and walks of life who know the data, the issues, and the stories 鈥� they鈥檙e there to talk about real solutions.鈥�
Some of those voices include community representatives who have been directly impacted by gun violence. Others include keynote speakers from notable national groups such as March Fourth, Brady United, and Moms Demand Action 鈥� all nonprofits seeking policy solutions to gun violence. Still others include local government officials from the Chicago area, leaders from other health care institutions in Chicago, and criminal justice reformers from throughout the country.
All these groups and more joined representatives from across Loyola's interdisciplinary schools and programs 鈥� not just Parkinson, but also the University鈥檚 medical and law schools, the Institute for Translational Medicine, and the Health Sciences Ministry.
"There鈥檚 a reason why people say things like 鈥榯he epidemic of gun violence in America鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 because it actually is a societal public health epidemic,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥淎t Parkinson, one of the things that makes us unique is our focus on being community-centered and human-centered 鈥� we are here to serve others. We bring together both conventional and unconventional voices and emerging disciplines to have real conversations that transcend any one area of expertise. We believe that鈥檚 what will ultimately lead to better health outcomes for all.鈥�
Data Science for Social Thinkers Salon: Advancing health data science through a humanistic lens
Panelists at the Salon 鈥�23 Data Science for Social Thinkers, hosted by the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health on June 8, 2023, took a deep dive into the human side of data. - PHOTO BY EDDIE QUINONES
Underlying all health interventions and programs are data sets, but at the annual , the focus is on the human side of data.
鈥淎t a moment when artificial intelligence is making it possible to analyze massive data sets in moments, these human-centered conversations are increasingly relevant,鈥� Morrato says. 鈥満诹厦舏s known for its expertise in bioethics, and that is what we seek to advance. It鈥檚 about the ethics of data inclusion and how we can center the community鈥檚 voice in big data.鈥�
The data salon integrates both community voices, as well as unconventional voices, into a self-reflective conversation about health and data. For example, last year the event brought in artists to help participants with the humanistic understanding and expression of health data 鈥� 鈥渁 unique lens,鈥� according to Morrato.
At the salon 鈥� organized by a Parkinson initiative called the Center for Health Outcomes and Informatics Research, which strives to create a data-driven culture to improve health outcomes and health equity 鈥� speakers consider which people are included in their data sets and, just as critically, who isn鈥檛. They think through how to ethically collect and use data. Each of these annually recurring forums builds on 黑料门University Chicago鈥檚 commitment to be a beacon for real-world solutions to health equity issues in Chicago and to ensure access to good health for all.