Community & Health Excellence
Community Engagement and Health Excellence (CEHE) Office
Who We Serve
Community Partnerships
Community Programs
- Community Health Worker Training Program (ENACT 2.0)
- Hope Leaders
- Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP)
- ASSETS Series
Data Hub for Communities
Data-Driven Policy and Planning Toolkit
Funding Opportunities Link
ASSETS Series
The University of Illinois Cancer Center concluded its successful 2025 ASSETS Series, "Structural Solutions to Clinical Research Excellence," sponsored by Genentech, with a well-attended event hosted at Sinai Chicago, with approximately 75 attendees.
ASSETS at Sinai Chicago
ASSETS events are conversations with patients, survivors, communities, legislative champions, pharmaceutical industry leaders and healthcare professionals focused on strengthening collaborations to expand clinical trial access and participation for varied groups of people.
The 2025 ASSETS finale on December 11 featured speakers from Sinai Chicago, the Cancer Center's Clinical Trials Office, community partners, patient advocates and community health workers, as well as Illinois lawmakers.
Ahead of that event, ASSETS was featured on WVON 1690 AM’s “Dr. in the House with Dr. Terry Mason,” and you can still listen to that show segment featuring former Cancer Center Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement Yamilé Molina, PhD, and Karriem Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH, Executive Director of the UI Health Mile Square Health Center. Click here to listen.
ASSETS at Humbolt Park Health Wellness Center
On November 13, more than 50 people attended an ASSETS community discussion at the Humboldt Park Health Wellness Center.
ASSETS conversations explore the most effective ways to invest in community partners, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and safety net hospitals to ensure access to clinical trials and the availability of future medicine for everyone.
Residents, community leaders, legislative champions, and clinical teams who work with patients from cancer screening through diagnosis, treatment and survivorship are invited to attend.
ASSETS at Loretto Hospital
An ASSETS event held in August 2025 drew a crowd of more than 70 people who gathered at Loretto Hospital in Chicago's West Side Austin neighborhood.
The ASSETS project, which was led by Molina, began in August 2023. The premise of the project is that when healthcare workers at FQHCs and safety net facilities are well-integrated and trusted within their communities, patients are more inclined to heed their advice. By leveraging these trusted relationships, the goal is to determine if this approach can enhance enrollment and completion rates in clinical trials.
More About ASSETS
ASSETS at 100 Black Men of Chicago
The inaugural ASSETS event in 2023 was a panel discussion at the 100 Black Men of Chicago Health and Wellness Expo at Chicago State University. That was followed by two more in-person events: a pre-conference workshop that October in conjunction with MOLA (Medical Organization for Latino Advancement), a nonprofit association of Hispanic/Latino physicians and health professionals, and another that November at Loretto Hospital. In December 2023, an ASSETS webinar engaged leaders from National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), pharmaceutical companies and cancer advocacy organizations.
