Events
In alignment with our mission “To contribute to the wellness of Alaska Native people by monitoring and reporting on health data, providing technical assistance, and supporting initiatives that promote health,” the Alaska Native Epidemiology Center (EpiCenter) organizes a variety of annual and semi-annual conferences in collaboration with our Tribal Health Organization leaders, other ANTHC departments, and State of Alaska partners.
Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) Annual Meeting
The 2026 Scientific Advisory Council Meeting: Honoring Connections that Strengthen Tribal Public Health: From Data to Action occurred September 3rd, 2026 in Anchorage.
The Scientific Advisory Council’s purpose is to collect information on Tribal leaders’ health priorities and training needs, offer useful data and presentations, and get feedback on ANTHC Epidemiology Center projects.
ANTHC EpiCenter Hosts the 2026 Scientific Advisory Council Meeting
On September 3, 2026, the ANTHC Epidemiology Center (EpiCenter) organized the 2026 Scientific Advisory Council Meeting in Anchorage around the theme “Honoring Connections that Strengthen Tribal Public Health: From Data to Action.”
The Scientific Advisory Council serves an important role in helping the EpiCenter understand Tribal leaders’ health priorities and training needs, share meaningful data and presentations, and gather feedback to strengthen EpiCenter projects and services.
This year’s meeting brought together 97 participants, including EpiCenter staff, Tribal partners, University of Alaska Anchorage partners, CDC Arctic Investigations partners, and Alaska Department of Health Epidemiology partners.
Attendees learned about the EpiCenter’s 2026 project highlights, including:
- The 2026 Tribal Public Health Summit;
- EpiCenter partnership updates;
- Collaborations involving colorectal cancer research and Healthy Alaskans;
- The Cancer in Alaska Native People 55-Year Report and Injury Atlas Part I and II (injury deaths and injury hospitalizations);
- New indicators and features of the Regional Health Profiles Data Dashboard; and
- EpiCenter’s commitment to technical assistance and training, featuring examples of data-set-specific support and tailored syndromic surveillance assistance.
Special guests from the American Society for Circumpolar Health shared information on the upcoming 2027 International Congress on Circumpolar Health conference.
Here’s what some attendees shared in their feedback after the gathering:
“During unstructured time, we naturally focused on collaborating to advise on potential approaches to certain public health issues.”
“I appreciate the connections I made with others outside my organization and recognize a lot of new opportunities to build partnerships.”
“I like this meeting a lot and enjoy the blend of programming and results/epi data.”
“I enjoyed the icebreaker as it gave me an opportunity to meet many new people. I made 2 great connections.”
Perhaps capturing the spirit of the day best, one participant said, “I got to understand the priorities of ANTHC, gain connections with new people, and it was the best icebreaker ever.”
The 2026 Scientific Advisory Council Meeting demonstrated that public health data becomes even more powerful when paired with relationships, shared knowledge, and collaboration. By creating space for Tribal partners and public health collaborators to connect, exchange ideas, and provide feedback, the EpiCenter continues to strengthen the connections that help transform data into action for the people and communities served.
Alaska Maternal Child Health and Immunization Conference
The Alaska Maternal Child Health and Immunization (MCHI) and the Alaska Public Health Association (ALPHA) partnered to offer a joint summit in 2026! The summit took place January 20-22, 2026 at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, AK.
The 2026 theme was “Stronger Together: Strengthening Public Health Through Partnerships.” Along with sessions focused on public health in Alaska, there was an MCHI track through the 3-day conference focusing on Maternal, Family, Child, and Immunization health.
The Alaska Maternal Child Health and Immunization Conference brings rural and urban health professionals together to learn about best practices and tools for the prevention of key and emerging MCH and family health issues.
Alaska Maternal Child Health & Immunization Conference Objectives:
- Engage a multidisciplinary audience in sharing experiences and ideas that advance collaborative innovations.
- Promote best practices and tools for the prevention of key and emerging maternal child and family health issues in Alaska.
- Present up-to-date research and recommendations on issues of concern to health professionals and policy makers working in rural and urban Alaska.
The Alaska MCHI conference is a collaboration between the Alaska Division of Public Health and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s Alaska Native Tribal Epidemiology Center and is held every two years.
Tribal Public Health Summit
The Tribal Public Health Summit took place February 18-19, 2026, at the Sheraton Hotel, Anchorage.
For more information about the 2026 event, please check out our success story, found here.
For more information about future Alaska Native EpiCenter events, please contact us at anepicenter@anthc.org to be added to our contact list and receive announcements about Tribal Public Health Summits, training opportunities, and more.
