LGBTQ town hall aimed to spur creation of stronger community at Stanford Medicine

From across Stanford Medicine, members of the LGBTQ community gathered on January 22, 2018 to share their concerns and to strengthen their presence on campus.

The standing room-only crowd of about 100 people included Dean Lloyd Minor, MD, and other school leaders, medical and graduate students and everyone in between.

Achievement, focus despite discrimination: Stanford surgeon featured in The Mercury News

Dr. Leah Backhus is an esteemed member of a relatively tiny club in U.S. medicine she sometimes refers to as “two-fers:” female African-American doctors. They represent about 2 percent of the nation’s 877,616 active physicians but are among a growing trend in the country

Dr. Eric Sibley to receive Distinguished Service Award

Eric Sibley, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics, associate chair of academic affairs in the Department of Pediatrics, and assistant dean for academic advising in the Stanford University School of Medicine, will receive the 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the North American Society for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition on November 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Sibley is a Department Liaison for OFDD.

5 Questions: Marcia Stefanick on better medicine for women

A Stanford professor of medicine discusses why giving consideration to sex and gender differences in research and treatment would improve medical care for everyone.

Stanford’s Michele Barry on why we need more women leaders in global health

It was summer of 2016 and she was at a conference in Nairobi when a panel composed entirely of men took the stage. Barry rose from her seat in the audience and addressed the panel saying, “It behooves you— if you want to be the continent that is leading the next generation — to get some women up there.”

Surgeon-scientist urges medical school graduates to advocate for equality in health care

Fifty-six years after giving a speech as the first African-American graduate of the Stanford School of Medicine, Augustus White III, MD, PhD, returned to the podium of his alma mater with gray hair and a strong message.

Unique lab studies mental health in Muslim communities

Since 2014, Rania Awaad, a psychiatrist based at the Stanford School of Medicine, has created and grown the Muslims and Mental Health Lab. The multidimensional research lab is dedicated to facilitating the study of mental health within Muslim communities and is the first and only of its kind in the nation.

Leslee Subak appointed new chair of obstetrics and gynecology

Subak, who earned her medical degree at Stanford, is an expert in urogynecology, particularly in researching and treating urinary incontinence in women.

Nancy Morioka-Douglas wins professionalism award

The Stanford clinical professor of medicine was honored for her efforts to help low-income communities. The Dr. Augustus A. White and Family Faculty Professionalism Award recognizes outstanding work in reducing health disparities or in enhancing the effectiveness of underrepresented minorities in the university community through research, education, mentoring or service.

Stanford Medicine's psychiatry faculty member Raziya Wang published in HuffPost 

"How Women In Medicine Can Promote Each Other" is an article that explores how women physicians can find mentors who will support and promote their work.

Pursuing parity – A new generation of female faculty is gathering data on why there should be more of them

Odette Harris was the only black woman in Stanford School of Medicine’s class of 1996. Upon graduation, she became Stanford’s sole first-year neurosurgery resident.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a professional situation where I wasn’t the first or the only,” says Harris, MD, now an associate professor of neurosurgery at Stanford, the associate chief of staff for rehabilitation at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and the director of brain injury programs at both institutions.

Stanford Psychiatry faculty member Dr. Rania Awaad and the Stanford Muslim and Mental Health Lab featured in recent New York Times Opinion Page piece

The story describes mental and emotional effects of what advocates say is a wave of hate crimes and racist harassment that started during President Trump’s campaign. Learn more about Stanford Psychiatry faculty member Dr. Rania Awaad and the Stanford Muslim and Mental Health Lab. Pictured: Rania Awaad.

Female surgeons recreating New Yorker cover sweeping Bay Area

The April 3rd cover of the New Yorker that featured an illustration of four female surgeons has inspired women surgeons everywhere to replicate the photo in their own “selfie” with colleagues. Mary Hawn, the Stanford Medicine Professor of Surgery and chair of the department, and Sherry Wren, professor of surgery, express their enthusiasm for the campaign in this article. Wren is also featured in a video that accompanies the article. 

Stanford’s dean of medicine says restricting immigration to the US is bad for our health

A few weeks ago, I was moderating a panel discussion with some of my Stanford Medicine colleagues. I asked what we needed to do to make sure that 30 years from now, people would look back on this time as one of remarkable medical breakthroughs. Biologist Andrew Fire—a Nobel Prize laureate—answered with three simple words: “science without borders.” The rest of us quickly agreed.

At Stanford event, researchers discuss health effects of racial discrimination

Dean Lloyd Minor, MD, kicked off Monday’s Race, Policing and Public Health Symposium by reminding the several hundred attendees why physicians — who are trained primarily to care for the physical body — should care about issues of race, law enforcement-related violence and discrimination. (Pictured: Stanford professor of psychiatry Keith Humphreys, who moderated the event panel.) 

Dr. David Gaba Recognized by the American Medical Women’s Association as the Dr. Larry Zaroff Man of Good Conscience Award Recipient

The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) will honor Dr. David Gaba with the 2017 Dr. Larry Zaroff Man of Good Conscience Award at its 102nd annual meeting award luncheon on April 1, 2017.  This award is presented to a male physician who has been a champion and supporter of women in medicine in the tradition established by Dr. Zaroff.

Honoring Women and Girl Scientists

In honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a look now at some of those who inspire us — and a call to action from UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Manuel Amieva featured in December Stanford News

"I grew up in Mexico, and it was very challenging leaving my home to attend college in the United States, but I was lucky to be able to explore what I wanted to do."

Dr. Leah Backhus featured in “Women in Thoracic Surgery”

Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Dr. Leah Backhus, was featured in the Women in Thoracic Surgery Winter 2016 issue, page 11-14.

Researchers explore how physicians can handle discrimination by patients, families

As part of a study, more than a dozen physicians were asked how they would advise their trainees to respond to three scenarios of discrimination, as well as how they would respond themselves. 

Pictured: Emily Whitgob, the lead author of a paper describing the strategies for dealing with discrimination which was published online Oct. 26 in Academic Medicine. 

In the circle

American Indians and Stanford researchers come together to prevent diabetes.

Adrian Kendrick was struggling with irritable bowel syndrome. His mother, a public health nurse, had recommended several remedies, but Kendrick wasn’t getting better. His mother made one last suggestion: a healing ceremony.

Pictured: Adrian Kendrick

What matters to Dean Lloyd Minor? Integrity, diversity, family and Stanford Medicine

What matters to you? And why?

This thought-provoking prompt is the focus of an ongoing lecture series sponsored by Stanford’s Office of Religious Life, which recently featured Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. 

Dr. Leah Backhus appointed to PCORI Advisory Panel 

Stanford Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Leah Backhus, MD, has been appointed to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Advisory Panel on Improving Healthcare Systems. This prestigious panel serves to guide research that will give patients and those who care for them the ability to make better-informed health decisions. Currently an Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford, Dr. Backhus is a member of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons and has served as mentor to many in an attempt to address disparities in academic surgery. Her research in addressing health disparities and diversity allows for continued patient-focused progress in healthcare.

Health disparities research center launched with $11.5 million grant

The Stanford Precision Health for Ethnic and Racial Equity Center will be one of the first national centers focused on using precision-medicine tools to improve the health of underserved ethnic and racial groups.

Pictured: Yvonne Maldonado and Mark Cullen, who will lead the new NIH-funded center aimed at improving the health of underserved ethnic and racial groups.

Lessons from the top: Science’s Marcia McNutt offers hard-won wisdom on leadership 

Marcia McNutt, PhD, shared lessons she’s learned from leading top U.S scientific institutions, including her current post as editor-in-chief of the journal Science.

The Language of Leadership: Creating Awareness of Bias

Recognizing unconscious bias when making talent decisions is an important consideration for 21st century managers. That’s why University Human Resources (UHR) recently partnered with the Clayman Institute for Gender Research to provide a two-hour workshop for Stanford managers to uncover bias in everyday management actions and to build awareness of the tools available to see bias and effectively block it.

Pictured: Clayman Institute’s Executive Director Lori Mackenzie, who led the course.

5 Questions: Sabine Girod on gender leadership bias in academic medicine

Sabine Girod led an effort to see if an educational intervention could reduce gender leadership bias among medical school faculty members. In short, it succeeded.

Programs Target Physician Wellness

Stanford is tackling physician burnout and promoting physician wellness with a variety of programs for medical students, residents and physicians.

Pictured: Rebecca Smith-Coggins, MD, professor of emergency medicine and co-chair of the Stanford Committee for Professional Satisfaction and Support (SCPSS).

Spanish-speaking families prefer native language when discussing surgical care

Spanish-speaking families are more satisfied with and better understand their children's surgical care when they communicate with the surgical team in their native language, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.

Pictured: Matias Bruzoni, MD, assistant professor of surgery and the study's senior author completed this study as part of the HCOE/OFDD Faculty Fellowship.

The Innovative Stanford Program That’s Saving Emergency Room Doctors From Burnout

The Washington Post recently profiled OFDD’s Academic Biomedical Career Customization (ABCC) Pilot program and its continuation in Stanford’s Department of Emergency Medicine. The article is accessible online here.

Pictured: Dr. Greg Gilbert, an emergency room physician at Stanford Hospital. Gilbert is part of a program at Stanford that helps emergency room doctors lead more balanced lives.

Solving the work-life puzzle

As the senior director of WorkLife Strategy for Stanford University, Phyllis Stewart Pires, MA, designs and manages programs and services that support the Stanford community in navigating the competing demands of work, study, personal and family lives.

Findings from national LGBT study released

The first national study to explore LGBT healthcare professionals' and trainees' perspectives on careers in academic medicine has been released. The article, entitled "LGBT Trainee and Health Professional Perspectives on Academic Careers—Facilitators and Challenges" and published in LGBT Health, August 2015, is accessible online here.
Pictured: Dr. Nelson Sanchez, lead author of the study.

Fernando Mendoza receives medical school's diversity award

Pediatrician Fernando Mendoza was recognized for his contributions to diversity and health-care equality.

Three ways to foster effective collaboration

When working with others to produce stellar results, whether it’s a project team, your departmental co-workers, or a cross-discipline committee, collaboration quickly becomes a key skill. When considering team effectiveness, it can be useful to evaluate results, process, and relationships as three separate but equally important factors. 

Former President of Brown, Ruth Simmons, PhD, speaks at Dean’s Lecture Series on diversity

On May 1, Ruth J. Simmons, PhD, President of Brown University from 2001-2012, spoke at Stanford Medicine’s Fresh Perspectives on Diversity Dean’s Lecture Series.

Study: Patient-doctor ethnic differences thwart conversations on end-of-life care

Doctors struggle to start discussions with ailing patients about how they want to spend their last days, a survey finds. The upshot? Patients should bring up the topic themselves.

OFDD Senior Associate Dean Yvonne Maldonado's Research on Poliovirus

A newly recognized form of poliovirus has emerged from one of the vaccines being used to eradicate the paralyzing illness. Stanford’s Yvonne Maldonado and others are studying how to solve the problem.

Discrimination fears remain for LGBT medical students, study finds

A Stanford study, recently published in Academic Medicine, has found that about 30 percent of sexual minority medical students hide or don’t reveal their sexual and gender identity, often because they fear discrimination.

Intel’s Rosalind Hudnell kicks off Dean’s Lecture Series on diversity

Stanford School of Medicine's Dean, Lloyd Minor, MD, has made diversity the initial focus of the newly launched Dean’s Lecture Series. The featured speaker at the first lecture was Rosalind Hudnell, chief diversity officer and global director of education and external relations at Intel.

Lucy Shapiro wins 2014 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

Shapiro revolutionized the understanding of the bacterial cell as an engineering paradigm whose cell division leads to the generation of diversity, a phenomenon fundamental to all life

Iris Gibbs appointed associate dean for medical school admissions

Iris Gibbs, MD, has stepped in as associate dean for medical school admissions, replacing Gabriel Garcia, MD, who served for 15 years in the post

Nature’s special issue on diversity

Greater diversity in science's workforce and ideas is long overdue. Nature, in this special issue with Scientific American, explores connections between diversity and the rigour of research — including how marginalization affects study design — and discusses persistent, misguided assumptions. The message is clear: inclusive science is better science.

Manage & Lead: Five Tips for Successful Career Conversations

As a manager, the conversations and career coaching you provide to your team members has the potential to inspire, energize, and engage them toward career success.

Study on Mexican ancestry to decode health problems led by Stanford Professor of Biomedical Data Science, of Genetics, and, by courtesy, of Biology, Carlos Bustamante, featured in the San Francisco Chronicle.

An extensive study decoding the genes of modern Mexicans has revealed their genetic links to the pre-Columbian world of their forebears who lived in Mexico hundreds to thousands of years ago.

Pictured: Professor Carlos Bustamante

Stanford Interventional Radiologist Nishita Kothary featured in the Society of Interventional Radiology’s Newsletter, Women in IR Spotlight

Dr. Nishita Kothary is this quarter’s Women in IR Spotlight for being a leader and innovator in the field of Interventional radiology.

Pictured: Nishita Kothary, MD