Community Engaged Research Symposium (CEnR)

Community engaged research (CEnR) is a process in which academic researchers work collaboratively with and through community members to identify and address issues affecting well-being in communities. CEnR has been endorsed and recommended by many but applied by relatively few. These symposia provide opportunities to learn about and discuss the benefits gained from CEnR, as well as its challenges and strategies for conducting this CEnR successfully.

CEnR 2020

December 2020 marked the third annual Community Engaged Research Symposium: Advancing Health Equity. This year’s focus was “The Impact of COVID-19 Now and in the Future,” and featured close to 60 speakers and was attended virtually by more than 200 individuals from Michigan and across the nation. Presentations highlighted academic researchers, both nationally and locally, Wayne State University medical students, community organizations and community members. Speakers offered their insight and perspectives of working collaboratively with academic researchers and the community – discussing issues of trust, expectations, value, capacity and compensation – as well as providing examples of successful partnerships.

CEnR 2019

This second annual meeting was supported, in part, by Wayne State University’s Office of the Assistant Vice President of Translational Science and Clinical Research Innovation, Karmanos Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Health Equity & Community Engagement, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). 

CEnR 2018

This symposium provided opportunities to learn about and discuss the benefits gained from community engaged research (CEnR), as well as its challenges and strategies for conducting this CEnR successfully with a focus on cardiovascular disease and cancer. This meeting was also an opportunity to learn from and network with community members who have identified research priorities for their communities. This inaugural meeting was supported, in part, by Wayne State University’s Office of the Assistant Vice President of Translational Science and Clinical Research Innovation, Karmanos Cancer Institute’s Population Studies and Disparities Research Program, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Topics that were addressed included the following:

  • How does community engagement contribute to stronger science?
  • What are successful models of community-engaged scholarship that academic researchers can follow?
  • How can academic institutions support community-engaged scholarship among faculty?
  • How does industry view the role of community members in clinical trials?
  • What are the CVD and cancer-related research priorities within local Detroit communities?
  • What kinds of local opportunities are there for community-engaged research related to cancer and CVD?