Pre-Register

2026 Rare Disease Summit - October 7th
Tahlequah, OK - Registration NOW OPEN!

Pre-Register

Conference Date

Count Every Second
Until the Event

October 7, 2026 8:00 am (CT)

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

About the Summit

Cherokee Nation Health Services is hosting a Rare Disease Summit, bringing together specialty physicians, healthcare professionals, and community members to address rare diseases affecting our tribal citizens.

This event will cover key medical topics and some classified rare diseases. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with experts through a Q&A panel featuring a neurology specialist, fostering open discussions and deeper insights. Our goal is to raise awareness and enhance support for rare diseases that impact our reservation and the wider Cherokee Nation.

Pre-Register Now

2026 Summit Speakers

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner
Deputy Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
Canaan Duncan
Deputy Secretary of State
Dr. Beth Harp, MD
DO Health Services Executive Medical Director
Dr. Prashant Kaushik, MD
Rheumatologist
Jennifer Baysinger, MSN, RN
Registered Nurse
Dr. Smaranda Galis, MD
Neurologist
Shari Nelson Arceneaux, BSN, RN
Newborn Screening Educator
Dr. Meagan McCall, DO
Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist
Lacy Eidson BSN,RN
Nursing Programs Manager
Dr. Marianna Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN/LD, DipACLM
Associate Professor, Health Promotion Sciences & Family and Community Medicine; George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Population Healthcare; Anne & Henry Zarrow Presidential Professor
Sky Collins
Founder of Oklahoma Rare
Leah Campbell
First Vice President and Legislative Director of the National Federation of the Blind of Oklahoma
Tonya Swim, MBA, RD/LD
Dietician
Dr. Sydney Martinez, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Dr. Danielle DeMarzo-Burdsall, MD, FACMG
Geneticist
Renee Botts, RN
Rare Disease Case Manager

2026 Summit Schedule

Registration & Breakfast

  • 9:00 am - 9:45 am
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Community Room ABC

Welcome and Opening Remarks

  • Canaan Duncan – Deputy Secretary of State
  • Chuck Hoskin Jr. – Principal Chief
  • Bryan Warner – Deputy Principal Chief
  • Beth Harp, DO, MHA – Chief Medical Officer.
  • 9:45 am - 10:15 am
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Community Room ABC

Keynote Address
Bridging Stories and Statistics: A Patient-Centered Approach to Rare Disease Research

  • Sydney Martinez, PhD, MPH
  • 10:15 am - 11:00 am
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Community Room ABC

Break

  • 11:00 am - 11:15 am

Lunch

  • 11:15 am - 12:15 pm
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Community Room ABC

Resource Fair

  • 11:15 am - 12:15 pm
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Community Room Hallways

Breakout Session

Rare Disease Empowerment & Advocacy

  • Leah Campbell
  • Sky Collins
  • 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Center (CNOHC) Conf. 2A/2B

Breakout Session

Food as Medicine

  • Marianna Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN/LD, DipACLM
  • 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm
  • Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences at Cherokee Nation Lecture Hall – Floor 1

Breakout Session

Oklahoma Newborn Screening Program

  • Shari Arceneaux, RN
  • 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm
  • Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences at Cherokee Nation Lecture Hall – Floor 3

Break

  • 1:00 pm - 1:15 pm

Breakout Session

Navigating Rare Disease Healthcare

  • Lacy Eidson, BSN, RN
  • Renee Botts, RN
  • 1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Conf. 2A/2B

Breakout Session

Genetics and Rare Disease

  • Danielle DeMarzo-Burdsall, MD, FACMG
  • 1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
  • Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences at Cherokee Nation Lecture Hall – Floor 1

Breakout Session

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Rare Disease

  • Meagan McCall, DO
  • 1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
  • Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences at Cherokee Nation Lecture Hall – Floor 3

Break

  • 2:00 pm - 2:15 pm

Breakout Session

Nutrition for Rare Disease Management

  • Tonya Swim, MBA, RD/LD
  • 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Conf. 2A/2B

Breakout Session

Reversing Systemic Inflammatory Diseases with Intense Lifestyle Medicine

  • Prashant Kaushik, MD
  • 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences at Cherokee Nation Lecture Hall – Floor 1

Breakout Session

Huntington's Disease

  • Smaranda Galis, MD
  • 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences at Cherokee Nation Lecture Hall – Floor 3

Break

  • 3:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Closing Plenary Panel

Speaker Q&A Panel

  • Moderated by Dr. Beth Harp, DO (Chief Medical Officer)
  • Panel - Prashant Kaushik, MD
  • Panel - Smaranda Galis, MD
  • Panel - Sydney Martinez, PhD, MPH
  • 3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
  • Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center (CNOHC) Community Room ABC

Location

Address:

Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center
19600 E Ross St. Tahlequah, OK
United States

  • Phone: (539) 234-2273
  • Email: cherokeerdsummit@cherokee.org
Website:

cherokeerdsummit.com