GC-CPEH Hosts 2026 Annual Center Retreat
Friday, October 16, 2026 |Baylor College of Medicine
The 2026 GC-CPEH Annual Member Retreat will be held in person on Friday, October 16, 2026, at Baylor College of Medicine. This one-day event will take place in the Alkek Building, including the N315 Auditorium, Room N317, and the DeBakey Museum.
Inaugural Elferink Award for Excellence in Exploratory Research
A highlight of this year’s retreat will be the presentation of the inaugural Elferink Award for Excellence in Exploratory Research. This new award honors the memory and legacy of the late Kees Elferink, PhD, former Director of the GC-CPEH and the Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine at UTMB.
Dr. Elferink played a central role in advancing the Center’s mission and supporting innovative EHS research. The award recognizes outstanding research by GC-CPEH Pilot Project awardees and reflects his lasting commitment to scientific discovery, mentorship, and collaboration. The inaugural recipients will be formally recognized during a special ceremony, followed by presentations of their research.
The retreat will also feature Center updates, member achievements, and opportunities to connect and build collaborations across the Center.
Draft Schedule
The schedule is subject to change.
| Time | Program |
|---|---|
| 9:15–9:50 a.m. | Registration and breakfast |
| 9:50–11:15 a.m. | Welcome and Center program and core updates |
| 11:20–11:35 a.m. | Coffee break |
| 11:35 a.m.–12:40 p.m. | Early-stage investigator research presentations |
| 12:40–1:40 p.m. | Working lunch and Thematic Focus Area small-group meetings |
| 1:50–2:55 p.m. | Advancing Environmental Health Research Using GC-CPEH Facility Cores |
| 3:00–4:00 p.m. | Elferink Award for Excellence in Exploratory Research ceremony and awardee presentations |
| 4:00–5:00 p.m. | Elferink Award reception |
Retreat Archives
OUR INSTITUTIONS
One Baylor Plaza, MS 229, Houston, TX 77030
Email: gc-cpeh@bcm.edu
Citation for Center Support
“Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences under Award Number P30ES030285. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.”
