Building Bridges Through Advocacy: Inside the PATIENTS Professors Academy

In this episode of The Bridge: Your Health, Your Voice, host ParisBarnes sits down with Joe Howarth, Lead Training Specialist for the PATIENTS Professors Academy (PPA), and Peyton Miles,a young health advocate and a 2025 PPA graduate. Together, they explore how the Academy empowers patients, caregivers, community members, and researchers to co-create solutions that make health research more inclusive and community-led.Peyton shares a powerful personal story about her own health journey, discussing how she discovered advocacy and the lessons she learned about the importance of trust and community connection. The episode also offers a preview of what’s next for the Academy’s fifth year—including new interactive tools and networking opportunities.Whether you’re a patient, researcher, or community advocate, this conversation is a reminder that meaningful research starts with listening—and that everyone has a role to play in shaping a more connected, compassionate healthcare community. Here’s the link to register to receive an application for our upcoming Summer 2026 Academy. https://umaryland.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86xa4SPlIqJ59D8 Visithttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-patients-program to stay updated onboth past and upcoming episodes.To watch this episode and more, visit ourYouTube channel ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf5TFMW2PWhKdIEaP2F9xN213vrkTrv9_⁠Subscribe to our YouTube Channel https://bit.ly/SubscribetoourYouTubeChannelLinks Website ⁠http://patients.umaryland.edu⁠Facebook ⁠https://www.facebook.com/PATIENTSProgram/⁠Twitter ⁠https://twitter.com/PatientsProgramInstagram https://www.instagram.com/thepatientsprogram/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-patients-program