This is going to be another exciting year for research activities at the Tucson conference! I hope you will be able to attend. Whether you are an experienced researcher looking to share your research interests with other researchers and practitioners with similar interests or an oncology social work practitioner looking to get more involved in research, there will be many research-focused events to choose from. Here is an overview.

Tuesday, June 4

• 8:00 a.m. – Noon Research Institute: Demystifying the Publication Process: Writing and Reviewing for Peer-Reviewed Journals. Karen Kayser, MSW, PhD, and Daniela Wittmann, MSW, PhD
   
• 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pre-conference Workshop: Essential Skills in Collaborative Care in Cancer Treatment. Tiffany Courtnage, MSW, LICSW; Jesse Fann, MD, MPH, and Taryn Lindhorst, MSW, LCSW, PhD

These are pre-conference sessions. You must register for each one and there is a charge of $50/session.

Wednesday, June 5

• 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Research Special Interest Group (SIG). Want to Explore Your Interventions With Patients and Families? An Introduction to the Oncology Social Work Intervention Index (OSWii) Practice Version. Julianne Oktay, PhD, MSW. The Research SIG meeting provides an opportunity to meet with other oncology social workers who are interested in research.
   
• 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Breathing in Wellness: A Novel 4-Week Mindfulness Session for Adult Cancer Patients/ Survivors. Matthew Grossman, MSW/MPH Candidate; Erin Price, MSW, LGSW
   
• 5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
   
  1. Veteran Identity: What Can We Borrow From the Research? Karlynn BrintzenhofeSzoc, PhD, MSW, FAOSW; Louisa Daratsos, PhD, LCSW
      
  2. Responding to Cancer-Related Trauma Sophia Smith, PhD, MSW; Susan Hedlund, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, FAOSW
      
  3. Early-Career Oncology Social Work Scholars: Building and Cultivating a Network of Peers Chiara Acquati, PhD, MSW; Lailea Noel, PhD (This is a new event for those of you who are beginning careers in research and scholarship. The purpose is to bring together early career oncology social work scholars to engage in a conversation with peers about professional development to establish ongoing collaborative relationships and peer-networking opportunities. Expected topics to address are sustaining your own academic intuition, building and cultivating a research agenda that tells your story, creating a peer-mentoring network and establishing your scholarly presence in an era of social media. Attendees can expect to leave with strategies and tools to foster their professional growth and development.)
      
• 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Reception and Poster Session. This is an opportunity to catch up
  on some of the most recent research in oncology social work, as well as meet and talk with the researchers themselves. Some research-focused posters this year are:
   
  1. Survey Results of Patients’ and Health Care Professionals’ Experiences With Managing Cancer Symptoms
     Carole Mayer, PhD, RSW; Mark Collins, MA; Silvana Spadafora, MD, FRCPC
      
  2. Measuring What You Treasure: Outcome Evaluation of the Impact of Structured Peer Support Services for Young Women Facing Breast Cancer Adina Fleischmann, LSW; Elana Silber, MBA; Kathryn Rehberg, MA; Suzanne O’Neill, PhD; Kenneth Tercyak, PhD

Thursday, June 6

• 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. – Noon A new development this year is a Clinical Practice Institute devoted to research. Practice-Informed Research for Oncology Social Workers 101: From Practice Experience to Scientific Inquiry—Parts I and II
  Heather Goltz, PhD, LMSW, MEd; Chiara Acquati, PhD, MSW; David Latini, PhD, MSW
   
• 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.  A Learning Institute: Screening and Tools and Data, Oh My! The Value and Import of Measuring Patient Outcomes and Oncology Social Work Practice Brad Zebrack, PhD, MSW, MPH, FAOSW (Moderator); Julianne Oktay, PhD, MSW; Makeeta Rayton, MSW; Mark Flanagan, LMSW, MPH, MA; Jeanice Hansen, LCSW, OCS-C (Panel)
   
• 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Cancer is a Family Affair, a three paper symposia cover research relevant to OSW practice. Moderated by Gerrie Jakobs, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
   
  1. The CaLM Model: Building a New Patient- Centered Cancer Institute with Social Work Leadership and Engagement in Interprofessional Whole-Person Collaborative Care Barbara Jones, PhD, MSW; Rebekkah Schear, MIA
      
  2. An Implementation Study to Inform Dissemination of the Collaborative Care Model to Underserved Patients in Oncology Clinical Settings Karen Weihs, MD
      
  3. Cancer is a Family Affair: A Collaborative and Multi-Disciplinary Approach to an Evidence-Based Family Communication Program
     Shannon La Cava, PsyD; William Saltzman, PhD; Elaine Wittert, LCSW

• Friday. 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Two of the morning paper sessions are research-focused: 
   
  1. Exploring The Association Between a Cancer Diagnosis and Food Insecurity: The Need for Future Research
     Torie Gettinger, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
      
  2. Financial Toxicity and Cancer: Proactive Screening, Assessment, and Treatment
     Abra Kelson, MSW; Virginia Vaitones, MSW; Hira Chowdhary, MPH, MS

As you can see, we will have many opportunities at the AOSW 2019 Conference to extend our knowledge and skill in research! I hope you can join us in Tucson to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments in oncology social work research and to participate in the various research activities described here.