One Event, Two Days of Impact
EQTY is Boston Medical Center Health System’s annual racial health equity conference, which brings together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, community leaders, and advocates for two days of collaboration, innovation, and action.
Attend one day or both and choose the experience that’s right for you.
Inspiring Speakers
Hear from nationally recognized leaders shaping the future of health equity.
Meaningful Connections
Connect with peers across healthcare, research, policy, and community organizations.
Innovative Research
Discover emerging research and new approaches to advancing equitable care.
Real-World Impact
Explore practical strategies that can improve care, systems, and communities.
EQTY 2026: Forward by Design
Mainstage Event, October 20th
Featuring leading speakers and conversations on the questions that define racial health equity right now — bringing leaders from healthcare, tech, policy, academia, and advocacy into the same room for forward-looking conversations on race and disabilities, clinical trials, maternal health, institutional trust, the geography of health, and more.
Inclusive Research Symposium
Prelude Event, October 19th
The future of medicine will not be defined by scientific breakthroughs alone, but by who benefits from them. BMC Health System’s Inclusive Research Symposium on October 19 brings together leaders across research, clinical care, industry, policy, and patient advocacy to explore how the next generation of cell and gene therapies can reach every community.
Registering a Team or Organization?
Email EQTYinfo@bmc.org and a member of our team will help you arrange group registration.
What Is Forward by Design?
Forward by Design is the conviction that racial health equity is not something we wait for; it is something we build. This year’s program asks what it would look like to design institutions, policies, and care models that are equitable by construction, not by correction.
If you care about the American healthcare system and its capacity for delivering care to those who need it the most, do yourself the favor to...register for EQTY 2026.
EQTY 2026: Forward by Design
The EQTY 2026 mainstage is built around five conversations — each one pushing past the diagnosis of inequity and into the work of designing something better. These panels bring together the people living with the consequences of broken systems and the people with the power to change them. Here's what's to expect on stage.
Future by Design: How Institutions Can Earn Back Trust
Public trust is fragile, technology is reshaping what's possible, and communities are asking more of the institutions that shape their lives. This executive conversation brings leaders from healthcare, tech, academia, and policy into the same room to examine what it takes to build institutions worthy of the future.
The Cost of Being Unseen: Race, Disability, and the Fight for Economic Mobility
What does it cost when illness is real but invisible? This panel examines how race and disability intersect to shape who receives care, who receives accommodation, and who is permitted to participate fully in economic life.
Why I Said Yes: Lived Experience in Clinical Trials
What does it mean to join a clinical trial when trust is fragile and representation limited? This conversation centers lived experience—exploring fears, stigma, and realities of chronic illness, and what it takes to see yourself in research.
Designed to Deliver: Reimagining Maternal Health for Black and Brown Mothers and Babies
We've documented the disparities. Now what will it take to build solutions that save Black mothers and babies? A filmmaker, maternal health activist, and a changemaker explore how story, lived experience, and policy can drive change.
Lines, Land, and Liturgies: The Geography of Health and Power
From land theft and redlining to grassroots and faith-based advocacy, this provoking conversation examines how policy, place, and power shape health—and how communities are confronting exclusion and reclaiming the power to shape their future.
Inclusive Research Symposium
As transformative treatments reshape medicine, they also expose longstanding gaps in access. Through conversations spanning discovery, clinical trials, implementation, and lived experience, the research symposium examines how innovation can be designed, tested, and delivered more inclusively, ensuring that advances in science become improvements in health outcomes for all. Here’s what to look forward to.
Novel CAR-T Cell Therapies: Advancing Innovation while Expanding Equity
CAR-T cell therapies are transforming treatment for hematologic malignancies and other serious conditions, but challenges remain in ensuring equitable access and effective implementation. This panel brings together experts in clinical care, health equity, industry, and patient advocacy to discuss how the benefits of CAR-T cell therapy can reach all populations. Panelists will examine barriers to access, the importance of patient-centered perspectives, and strategies for equitable delivery. The discussion will highlight collaborative approaches among clinicians, researchers, industry partners, health systems, and patients to advance more inclusive care.
Sickle Cell Gene Therapies: From Scientific Breakthrough to Access
Gene therapies for sickle cell disease are among the most significant medical advances in decades, offering the potential for functional cures and ushering in a new era of treatment. As these therapies move into broader clinical practice, important questions remain about access, affordability, and equity. This panel brings together leaders in clinical care, research, patient advocacy, and industry to examine the evolving gene therapy landscape and the barriers that may limit access. Panelists will discuss scientific advances, patient experiences, and collaborative strategies to ensure innovation in sickle cell care is matched by equitable and inclusive delivery.
Translational Research for Rare Disease: Bridging Scientific Discovery, Patient Partnership, and Clinical Innovation
Rare diseases affect more than 300 million people worldwide, yet effective treatments remain out of reach for many patients. This panel will explore how translational research can accelerate the path from scientific discovery to patient care while ensuring innovation is inclusive, equitable, and patient-centered. Experts in clinical care, patient advocacy, and industry will discuss patient-informed research, inclusive clinical trial design, cross-sector collaboration, and strategies to overcome barriers to diagnosis, trial participation, and access. Together, they will examine how these approaches can accelerate the development and delivery of transformative therapies for rare disease that reach the patients and communities who need them.
Getting Here
All panels for EQTY 2206 and the research symposium will take place at the Renaissance Boston Seaport District.
Renaissance Boston Seaport District
606 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210
Public Transportation
The Renaissance Boston Seaport District is accessible via the MBTA Silver Line, route SL1. Use the Silver Line Way stop.
Parking
For sessions at the Renaissance Boston Seaport District, paid parking is available at a number of local garages and lots, in addition to valet parking at the venue itself.
Staying Here
The Renaissance Boston Seaport District is the official conference hotel for EQTY 2026. Located just fifteen minutes from Boston Logan International Airport, it offers convenience and comfort for your stay.
All panels for EQTY 2206 and the Research Symposium will take place onsite.
Renaissance Boston Seaport District
606 Congress Street
Boston, MA 02210
Exploring Boston
Museums & Attractions
Discover Boston’s renowned museums and dynamic attractions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Fenway Park, and the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum.
Tours
City trolley tours, fall foliage tours, brew pub tours, sports tours, harbor tours, ghost tours, and more. See Boston from every angle.
Craft Beer & Breweries
Want to tap into what’s brewing? We’ve got you covered.
Outdoor Activities
Boston offers a wide array of recreational activities for everyone, including parks and outdoor art installations.
For Foodies
Boston is a world-class culinary destination with excellent options for your dining pleasure.
Good To Know
Sponsors
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Become a Sponsor
Sponsorship opportunities are available to companies, organizations, and individuals who are passionate about EQTY and BMC Health System’s mission.
If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to partnerships@bmc.org.
Looking Back at EQTY 2025
BMC Health System’s third annual summit convened leaders across the country on some of the most pressing issues in healthcare today. Hear from some of these experts on critical topics, such as inclusive research, representation, and building resilience to face obstacles as they arise.
EQTY 2025 Event Champions Progress amid Pressures
Esteemed national leaders like Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson convened at Boston Medical Center Health System’s third annual conference to build strategies and momentum to push forward against multiple intersecting headwinds in healthcare.
Experts Weigh in on Inclusive Innovation in Cardiometabolic Health
At EQTY 2025’s Advancing Medicine Research Symposium, experts highlighted how community-informed research is shaping the future of cardiometabolic health.