ALIGN SYMPOSIUM 2024
19 August 2024
ALIGN Symposium 2024 – Mapping Pathways to Benefit
On the 15th and 16th of August, we invited the entire ALIGN network to join us on beautiful Kaurna Country in Adelaide. This was an opportunity to put our collective hearts and minds behind the serious business of mapping the pathways to benefit from genomics, for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. The response from our network was impressive.
We hosted more than 80 people, thanks to the generosity of SAHMRI for their auditorium, with expertise spanning research, health services, community, and industry. Importantly, nearly half of the participants were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, centering the voices and diversity of mob throughout all of our discussions.
Each Node ran a workshop focused on their flagship; Capacity and Capability Building (SA), Precision Medicine (NSW), Rare Diseases (WA), Immunogenomics (VIC), Genome Biology (ACT), and Pharmacogenomics (QLD). Each workshop was different in its format, however they all put the audience to work, leveraging the breadth of expertise and experiences in the room to ask the critical questions they needed to progress.
Our network took up the challenge, and they worked hard over those two days! The difficult questions were asked, and some hard discussions were had, made possible by the safe and collaborative environment that Alex has fostered within the ALIGN network.
“I was really impressed with the level of engagement and energy that everyone bought to this event. It was hard work, but people were keen, and generous with their time and knowledge.” Alex Brown
By the end, new connections had been made, existing connections had been strengthened, and new ideas had been shared and embraced. We’re certain that each Node took away extremely valuable insights to help them develop their flagship programs and pathways to benefit, and we can’t wait to see how these progress!
