Women Leaders : Changing the face of health care and science

However, women represent only 29 percent of leadership across all US universities, and in science leadership, the number is even smaller. And just one-third of hospital executives nationwide are women. So while progress is being made, clearly there is more work to be done.

On January 26, UCSF turned the spotlight on its superstar women faculty members, alums, students, and postdocs at the inaugural UCSF Alumni & Friends symposium, Women in Health Care and Science. The event showcased some of the trailblazing work women are doing in the labs, clinics, and classrooms at UCSF, around the Bay Area, and across the country, and offered free child care for attendees who needed it.

UCSF internal medicine professor Katherine Julian, MD ’96 kicked off by interviewing fellow alum Mallika Marshall, MD ’96. Dr. Marshall, a practicing physician and health correspondent with CBS affiliate WBZ in Boston, told us how she chose medicine as a profession, and highlighted some of the challenges she faces in presenting popular health stories on TV, where grabbing headlines sometimes overrides serious medicine.

Morning breakout sessions presented a mix of science, memoir, and psychology. Featured speakers were: Monica McLemore, PhD ’10, MPH, RN, assistant professor of family health care nursing, and her colleagues, who are designing and conducting clinical research “through the lens of reproductive justice;” Pamela Munster, MD, who related her experience of being diagnosed and treated for a BRCA-related cancer after spending years as a leading oncologist specializing in the disease; perinatologist Mary Norton, MD, one of several experts in a panel discussion who explained how they are navigating the nascent field of genetic interventions in the womb; and professor and vice chair in the department of Psychiatry, Christine Mangurian, MD ‘03, MAS ’15, who moderated a conversation around strategies for promoting gender equity across all types of institutions.

The symposium ended with lunch and a Q &A facilitated by Christine Winoto, deputy director of QB3, UC’s hub for entrepreneurship in life science. Three UCSF alums and founders of health and biotech start-ups spoke about their groundbreaking endeavors in the private sector. Kate Rosenbluth, PhD ’09, is inventing a wrist-worn device to prevent hand tremors in patients; Leah Makley, PhD, postdoc alum, is developing medical treatments to treat protein-misfolding diseases such as cataracts; and Crystal Nyitray, PhD ’15, is working toward a cell-based cure for type 1 diabetes.

“It’s so inspiring to see the UCSF community come together to support women leaders,” said Elizabeth Watkins, PhD, dean of UCSF’s Graduate Division. “We hope it helps encourage more women to embrace leadership roles and spurs gender equity in health care and across all the sciences.”