Our 2027 theme is on the horizon
7th Annual CYFAM National Conference
February 13–14, 2027 · San Diego, California
At the University of California, San Diego, School of MedicineT. Denny Sanford Medical Education and Telemedicine Center (MET Building)
Building kapwa among Filipinx American physicians, trainees, and communities
About the Conference
Kapwa is often translated as "shared self," the recognition that another person is not separate from you. It is the idea at the center of everything CYFAM does, and it is the reason we gather.
Each year, the CYFAM National Conference brings together Filipinx and Filipinx American pre-medical and medical students, residents and fellows, attending physicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals from across the country. For two days we trade advice, share research, learn from one another, and remember that we are building something larger than any one career.
In 2027, we come to San Diego.
Join the Interest List
Student Partners
In collaboration with our Student Partners
-
Filipinx Americans in Medicine
FAMFilipinx Americans in Medicine (FAM) is a student-run organization focused on fostering community among Filipinos in medicine. FAM is dedicated to connecting and serving Filipino American medical students, a historically underrepresented group within the profession. Through collaboration and advocacy, FAM promotes medical education and builds community among students, patients, and physicians.
@fam.ucsdsom -
Pilipino Undergraduate Society for Health
PUSHPilipino Undergraduate Society for Health (PUSH) believes in the academic empowerment of Pilipino American students. PUSH members are leaders in the Pilipino community who serve as an active presence through service, establish networking opportunities and collaborations, and promote education and awareness of health issues in order to move purposefully toward futures in the health professions.
@pushatucsd
Who belongs here
You belong at this conference if you are:
No prior CYFAM involvement is required. First-timers are genuinely welcome.
What to expect
Six currents run through the weekend, and they all lead to the same place: a room full of people who understand where you come from.
Mentorship that lasts past the weekend
Structured mentorship connects students with residents, fellows, and attendings who have walked the same road.
Professional development
Sessions on residency applications, research pathways, leadership, negotiation, and sustaining a career without losing yourself in it.
Clinical skills workshops
Hands-on practice with procedural and clinical skills, led by physician instructors.
Scholarship and research
An abstract and poster session spotlighting Filipinx health research, community health work, and medical education scholarship.
Abstract submissions open this fallCommunity care and health equity
Programming on the health issues that shape Filipinx American communities, from cardiometabolic and cancer disparities to mental health, caregiving, and the health of the healthcare workforce itself.
Gathering
Break times, shared meals, and the unstructured hours where real kuwentuhan happens.
Past keynote speakers
Each year, a Filipinx American physician leader opens our conference. Follow the path of the leaders who came before, from the White House to the National Academy of Medicine.
Imelda Dacones MD, FACP
Internal medicinePhysician executive; former President and CEO, Northwest Permanente
Peter N. Bretan Jr. MD, FACS
Urology and transplantFirst Filipino American president, California Medical Association
Consuelo Corazon Cagande MD, DFAPA, DFAACAP
Child and adolescent psychiatryFellowship Program Director, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell
Margarita Castro-Zarraga MD
Family medicineFounder, Genera Health Direct
Julieta Gabiola MD, RN, FACP
Internal medicineClinical Professor of Medicine, Stanford; Founder, ABC's for Global Health
Vania Manipod DO
PsychiatryEditor in Chief, The DO; Founder, Clarify Meds
Connie Mariano MD, FACP
Internal medicineFirst military woman to serve as White House Physician
Katherine Luzuriaga MD
Pediatric infectious diseasesVice Provost for Research, UMass Chan; TIME 100 honoree
Gerard E. Francisco MD
Rehabilitation medicineChair of PM&R, UTHealth Houston; CMO, TIRR Memorial Hermann
Why San Diego?
San Diego is not a neutral backdrop. It is one of the most significant Filipinx American communities in the United States.1
Filipino sailors have passed through these waters for centuries, beginning with the Manila galleon trade that carried Filipino crews across the Pacific and produced the first documented Filipino landing on California soil at Morro Bay in October 1587, the event now marked every year as Filipino American History Month.2
Generations later, US Navy recruitment brought thousands of Filipino service members and their families to San Diego, and communities took root in National City, Paradise Hills, Chula Vista, and Mira Mesa.3
Filipino nurses and physicians recruited to the United States through the mid-twentieth century helped build the healthcare workforce that this region still depends on. Many of us are here because they came first.4
We gather in San Diego to learn where we came from and to take that history seriously as clinicians. This is a homecoming as much as a conference.
Sources (4)
- Demographics: Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, San Diego County; San Diego Foundation, State of San Diego AANHPI Report (2024)
- Morro Bay, 1587: APIAHiP, Day 23: Morro Bay; Filipino American National Historical Society marker, Coleman Park
- Navy service and settlement: Yen Le Espiritu and Diane L. Wolf, Children of Filipino Immigrants in San Diego; Rudy P. Guevarra Jr., Journal of San Diego History; Filipinos in San Diego, Filipinos and the Military
- Healthcare workforce: Catherine Ceniza Choy, Empire of Care (Duke University Press, 2003)
Help Build the 7th Annual Conference
There are many ways to be part of this year's conference. Choose a path, and each page has everything you need to take part.
-
Call for Workshops
Present a Workshop
Share your expertise in a 60 or 80 minute session, in person in San Diego or virtually through the Pre-Conference Workshop Series.
- 13 suggested topic areas
- Clinical and non-clinical formats
Submissions open mid to late October 2026 (tentative).
-
Research Symposium
Share Your Research
Present a poster or oral presentation at the Research Symposium. Abstracts on Filipinx health are especially welcome.
- Basic science, clinical, public health, and social health and history
- 250-word abstracts
Submissions open Friday, October 9, 2026, at 12:00 PM PT and close Friday, November 13, at 11:59 PM PT.
-
Call for Judges
Judge Abstracts
Lend your expertise to the National Research Committee by reviewing abstracts from November 16 to December 11, 2026.
- Review from wherever you are
- Help recognize emerging researchers
The Call for Judges opens Monday, October 12, 2026.
-
Volunteer
Join the Planning Committee
The 7th Annual CYFAM Conference is built by CYFAMilya, for CYFAMilya. Help shape a weekend of mentorship, scholarship, and community.
- Fully virtual
- 3 to 5 hours every two weeks
Priority deadline: Friday, October 9, 2026, at 11:59 PM PT. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis after that.
What's next
- Oct 9Abstracts openVolunteer priority deadline
- Oct 12Call for Judges opens
- Mid to late OctWorkshop proposals openTentative
- Nov 13Abstracts close
- Mid-NovWorkshop proposals closeJudging beginsTentative
- Dec 18Abstract decisions
- Mid-DecWorkshop decisionsTentative
- Jan 29Presenters confirm
- Feb 13 to 14CYFAM National Conference 2027
Not Sure Where to Start?
Join the Interest List to hear first when registration opens, new calls launch, and tentative dates are confirmed.
Questions? Email the Conference Chairs at conference@cyfam.org, or the National Research Committee at research@cyfam.org.