Thank you to everyone who attended the 2026 It’s About a Billion Lives Symposium, hosted by the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UCSF’s Multiethnic Health Equity Research Center, and UCSF’s Smoking Cessation Leadership Center on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Centered on the theme “Together for Health Equity,” this year’s symposium highlighted the shared commitment needed to advance tobacco control, strengthen partnerships, and drive lasting impact in health equity.
Recordings from the symposium are now available. Revisit the keynote presentations, research updates, and sessions spotlighting emerging voices in the field, including students from the SF BRIDGE program, UC Merced, and the Smoke and Vape Free Scholars Initiative, as well as the fifth annual UCSF Emerging Health Equity Scholar Awardees.
2026 Billion Lives Recordings
Keynote: Advancing Health Equity Together Through Communication Science For Youth, With Youth, and By Youth Andy Tan, PhD, MPH, MBA, MBBS
Meeting People Where They Are: Reducing Tobacco Use and Exposure in Permanent Supportive Housing
Mark Hawes, PhD, MSWPutting Out Cigarettes with Code: Can Artificial Intelligence Level the Playing Field?
Jason Satterfield, PhDWhere There’s Smoke: Youth Perspectives on Tobacco and Health Equity
MERC Emerging Health Equity Scholar Award Winner- Vuong Do, PhD
MERC Emerging Health Equity Scholar Award Winner- Adali Martinez, MD, MPH
MERC Emerging Health Equity Scholar Award Winner- Dan Kabella, PhD
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Watch the 2025 symposium and past years’ symposia.