AAPI Heritage Month Marked at NIH

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month, NIH’s chapter of the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) held a virtual meeting on May 28 to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic and understand the issues the AAPI community is facing.

“The AAPI community is in a direct collision course of a Covid-19 tsunami, even as we continue to serve the country in combating the pandemic at multiple fronts,” said NIBIB staff scientist Dr. Joy Zhao. “This virtual conversation was aimed to address the important questions about how to deal with increased discriminatory experiences in the AAPI communities, how to stay united in the pandemic and how to serve the community in need.”

Featured speakers included Dr. Francisco Sy, chair of the department of environmental and occupational health, University of Nevada; Rita Pin Ahrens, executive director, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates; Dr. Maryland Pao, clinical director and deputy scientific director, NIMH; Dr. Clarence Lam, state senator, Maryland General Assembly; and Olivia Adrian, president, FAPAC.

More than 290 attendees joined the event celebrating AAPI culture and contributions during the pandemic.