Exploring Social, Economic and Environmental Determinants of Health
Break the Cycle 21 Conference
CONFERENCE DATE: APRIL 26-28, 2026
We invite university and college students in the US and around the world from a variety of academic disciplines to participate in our 21st Annual Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities Program for 2025-2026
and present their work at our Annual Break the Cycle conference in Atlanta, Georgia on April 26-28, 2026.
Interested students should submit a proposal by Friday October 31, 2025
Proposals are competitive and are reviewed and scored by the Break the Cycle faculty and decisions on selection of students for participation will be communicated by Monday November 10, 2025.
Questions on project ideas or program details can be directed to our Break the Cycle Coordinator, Ximena Guillen at contact@breakthecycleprogram.org
or to Break the Cycle Director,
Leslie Rubin MD at lrubi01@emory.edu.
BREAK THE CYCLE OF
CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES
21st ANNUAL PROGRAM
A Program of
Break the Cycle of Health Disparities, Inc.
Since the inception of our Annual Break the Cycle program 20 years ago, we have cultivated the interest of students to develop projects to examine the impact of social, economic, and environmental determinants of health on children who grow up in circumstances of social and economic disadvantage.
To date we have had over 200 student projects completed, presented and published that have illustrated the relationships between the lived experiences of vulnerable children and adverse health outcomes.
While the content of each student project demonstrated how to Break the Cycle at any point to reduce children’s health disparities, the accumulated findings from the collection of projects, revealed the relevance of the ecological model embedded in the Cycle of Health Disparities diagram.
The model conceptualized in the Cycle diagram implies an intergenerational perpetuation of the adverse experiences with associated adverse health outcomes, so, breaking the cycle becomes not only an immediate and time-limited interruption, but one that has significant and even profound, long term beneficial consequences.
Furthermore, examining the elements in the framework of the Cycle diagram will reveal the multiple and cumulative factors that result in adverse health outcomes, clearly stated in the Environmental Impact section as a combination of Increased Toxins and Increased Stress as the mediators of the Health Risk Factors, which are likewise, not always found in isolation, but more often than not, manifest as associated co-morbidities that are interactive and synergistic, with cumulative adverse outcomes (see diagram below).
About the
Break the Cycle Program
Children who grow up in an environment
where their parents are stressed by
job insecurity, income insecurity, housing insecurity, and food insecurity,
and live in an environment where the air they breathe is polluted,
and the food they eat is not nutritious,
and the houses and spaces where they live are
ill-kept, crowded and with limited access to greenspace,
and their schools are old and teachers are tired,
so their education is less than optimal,
and they have limited access to quality healthcare,
they are more likely to suffer from stress,
which cumulatively adversely affects their physical
and mental health and well-being,
and dims their aspirations for a promising future
for themselves and for their children.
Project Guidelines
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University students from all disciplines are invited to develop projects that creatively address social, economic, and environmental factors that adversely affect the health of children. Students are required to identify a mentor in their university departments to monitor and guide their projects.
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All applications are evaluated based on a focus to the cycle of environmental health disparities, the quality of the proposal, novelty, feasibility, and potential for sustainability. There are a limited number selected for full participation in the program each year.
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During the project period there are monthly conference calls to support the progress of the research projects, share ideas and assure that the project is on track and consistent with the spirit of the Break the Cycle concept.
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At the end of the project period, students are required to present their projects at a conference which will be open to the public and includes a keynote speaker of national stature. Conference date will be April 2024
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Students write papers on their projects which are submitted for publication in an international journal as a monograph of the Break the Cycle projects.
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We look froward to following the careers of the students and to remain in contact to monitor the impact of their participation in the Break the Cycle Program on their academic or professional careers.
The Break the Cycle Program focuses on raising awareness of children's environmental health disparities and on cultivating future leaders.
DESIRED OUTCOMES
To inspire students from a variety of academic disciplines to explore the relationship between adverse social, economic and environmental factors and the health and development of children and to creatively generate strategies to address the challenges
To collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of academic leaders from different universities and colleges to creatively examine the broader landscape of this topic
To promote leadership among students
To encourage faculty of our university partners to promote academic interest and social awareness of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities.
Each year, students and faculty from a variety of colleges and universities participate in developing projects that will
Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities
to promote health equity for all children.
The students present their projects at a national conference and the results are published in international journals.
Since its inception in 2004, Break the Cycle (BTC) has partnered with over 80 university departments across 21 States in the US, as well as from 6 countries in Latin America and 2 countries in Africa, and has supported research for over 200 trainees. Annual BTC trainee projects are published in international journals and a book series on public health. Alumni of the BTC program rate their mentored research experiences highly and many pursue careers related to their Break the Cycle projects.
Environmental Health Disparities
Children who grow up in circumstances of social and economic disadvantage are at greater risk for exposure to adverse environmental factors and are more likely to suffer adverse health and developmental consequences. Break the Cycle supports an interdisciplinary set of student-driven research projects that explore the environmental, economic and social factors that adversely affect children’s health and creatively develop strategies to promote the health of children and, thereby, Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities.
About the Program
Students are required to work with academic mentors from their respective university programs to submit a proposal on how they would develop a project to Break the Cycle. All proposals will be reviewed, and a limited number will be selected based on relevance to the cycle of environmental health disparities, creativity, feasibility, and strength of the project plan.
Those selected will have the opportunity to work with the Break the Cycle faculty and other students from around the country and internationally, to see the project to completion and present their research results and findings at an annual conference in Atlanta scheduled for the spring of 2025.
There will be monthly conference calls to review projects and provide perspectives and guidance on the projects. During these conference calls, faculty and students will have the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with their counterparts in other disciplines at other universities.
Students will also be required to write a scientific paper on their project which will be published in an international peer-review journal as well as a chapter in a book.
Who Can Apply
Students from all disciplines and training levels are encouraged to apply. This includes undergraduates, graduate students, medical residents, and fellows.