Healthy Hearts and Healthy Communities
4th Annual C2DREAM Conference Recap
Over 120 people attended the 4th Annual C2DREAM Conference, in-person and virtually. The event was held at the Wilder Foundation in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on June 3rd. Attendees, including staff, researchers, health professionals, and community members from throughout Minnesota, learned about improving cardiovascular health across communities. Learn more about the year 4 conference and prior conferences. C2DREAM is made up of a collaborative partnership among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Health System, and the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute. Co-Principal Investigators include Michele Allen, MD, MS, Christi Patten, PhD, MPH, and Felicity Enders, PhD.
C2DREAM Conference Faculty Lead Sandra Japuntich, PhD, opened the conference by introducing the opening blessing led by Jerry Dearly, an Elder from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Including a performance from the Hoka-Hey Singers + Native American Community Clinic Men’s Drum Group. C2DREAM Co-Principal Investigators Michele Allen, MD, MS, and Christi Patten, PhD, presented an overview of the work being conducted across the three C2DREAM cores and the diverse projects aimed at improving heart health in the community.
C2DREAM, Healthy Immigrant Community project team. 4th Annual C2DREAM conference. Photographed by Nestor Gomez Jimenez.
The Healthy Immigrant Community (HIC), C2DREAM Project 1, shared their research process and findings on improving immigrant health, primarily in Rochester, MN, within the Somali and Hispanic immigrant communities. Drs. Irene Sia and Mark Wieland, Graciela Porraz Capetillo, and Luz Molina led the presentation and discussion of HIC’s social network intervention that intended to improve dietary behaviors among immigrant adults.
A poster session followed, comprised of early career researchers and community organizations, providing an opportunity for them to share their work with a diverse audience, enabling conference attendees to engage and ask questions. Thank you to all who participated in the poster session and for their hard work. This year, we announced three poster session awardees, who did remarkable work on their posters and were a crowd favorite:
Food acculturation patterns and diabetes-related health risks among East African Immigrants in the Twin Cities, MN, Habiba Ibrahim, PhD
Association of Poverty with Pharmacy Access in Minnesota, Jeremy Van’t Hof, MD, MS
Expanding the Diabetes Homelessness Medication Support program (D-HOMES) to Spanish-speaking Hispanic adults, Oscar Oranday Perez; Katherine Diaz Vickery, MD; Rose A. Hyson, Silvio Kavistan, Andrew M. Busch, PhD, LP
Left to right: Poster session awardees Oscar Oranday Perez, Habiba Ibrahim, and Jeremy Van’t Hof pose for a photo at the 4th Annual C2DREAM Conference on June 3rd, 2025. Photographed by Nestor Gomez Jimenez.
In the afternoon, the program offered three breakout sessions for attendees to choose from:
1. Innovative Digital Solutions for Advancing Cardiovascular Health
Overview of project 4: Personal Assistant for Smoking Cessation using Artificial intelligence and Large language models (PASCAL), Michael Kotlyar, PharmD
Techquity by FAITH!: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy of a Community-Informed, Cardiovascular Health Promotion mHealth Intervention with Digital Health Advocate Support, Ashton Krogman presented in place of LaPrincess Brewer, MD, MPH who was unable to attend
2. Addressing Cardiovascular Health Across Communities: Challenges, Innovations, and Community-Driven Solutions
Project BRAID: An Implementation Study of Indigenous Youth Health, Mardryka Adzick; Ambria Crusan, PhD, RD/LD; Katie Johnston-Goodstar, PhD; and Jaidyn Probst
Comparison of the Association of Area-based Deprivation Indices with Hypertension and Diabetes Control Outcomes, Samuel T. Savitz, PhD; Jill M. Killian, Kathleen J. Yost, PhD, Jennifer St. Sauver, PhD, and Alanna M. Chamberlain, PhD.
3. Nourishing Health: Exploring the Role of Diet and Physical Activity in Improving Cardiovascular Health
Barriers and Facilitators to a Mediterranean-Style Eating Pattern Among Hispanic/Latine Adults, Francine Overcash, PhD, MPH
“My body was made to move!": Partnering with Black Older Adults to Design Sedentary Behavior Interventions, Mary O. Whipple, PhD
These sessions reflect the significant work staff, researchers, and health professionals are doing across the C2DREAM network to improve cardiovascular health in Minnesota. Learn more about the speakers who led the presentations and the poster session.
Post-conference festivities concluded with a reception at King Coil Spirits in Saint Paul, providing an opportunity for conference attendees to engage in community.
Thank you to the conference planning committee for their time and contributions to make this event possible: Ashya Burgess, Bervelyn Atampugre, Gloria Ortega, Graciela Porraz-Capetillo, Keetha Vue, Kou Farngalo, Mikow Hang, Mohamed Mohamed, Moncies Franco, Ornella Malm, Sandra Japuntich, Tabetha Brockman, Vivian Hsieh, and Yasamin Graff.
Photo Gallery of the C2DREAM conference.
All photos taken by Nestor Gomez Jimenez.
C2DREAM is a partnership between the University of Minnesota Program in Health Disparities Research, the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Health System, and Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute. Funding provided by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P50MD017342.
