Women in Medicine and Science Research Day Highlights Achievements and Opportunities

With the mission of strengthening the bonds among female faculty, students and researchers, the 20th annual Women in Medicine & Science (WIMS) Research Day offered opportunities for community-building, networking, mentoring and collaboration.

Hosted by the Office of Faculty Affairs at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University and the Group for Women in Medicine and Science, the event took place on March 11 in the MART Auditorium at Stony Brook University Hospital.

WIMS was created to raise awareness of the issues that women have continued to face in medical training, healthcare, science and research, and to highlight the achievements of women in those fields.

Lindsey Criswell, director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and widely known for her leadership in biomedical research and research workforce development, delivered the keynote presentation, "Empowering Early Career Investigators in Science and Medicine: The Critical Role of Mentorship."

"What's really important and drives progress is the underlying research program and the people that commit their careers to trying to learn about these diseases," she said, adding that mentoring has been a deeply enriching and rewarding experience. "I've mentored students as young as high schoolers, and older students, fellows, graduate students, clinical research coordinators, data managers and statisticians. I've really enjoyed this aspect of my career. A good mentor can help navigate the increasingly complex landscape of funding."

After presentations from abstract finalists, Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith took part in a panel discussion on "Advocating Toward Leadership." Joining President Goldsmith were Criswell and Renaissance School of Medicine faculty Mary Kritzer, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior; Anne Felicia Ambrose, professor of Neurology and Rehabilitation, Department of Neurology; Chelsea Estrada, associate professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology; and Carine Maurer, associate professor, Department of Neurology.

The panel discussed the importance of mentorship at different career stages, emphasizing the need for mentors to provide resources, guidance, and perspective. Speakers highlighted the significance of peer mentorship, balancing career and family, and the role of supporters. They shared personal experiences.

"I'm an electrical engineer and there were not a lot of women in electrical engineering," said President Goldsmith. "Because of that there were no senior women to serve as mentors in my undergraduate or even in my graduate courses. You might think that your best mentor is your PhD advisor or your supervising attendant, but that's not always true. Not everybody is a good mentor, so finding people that can mentor you, even if they're not the 'official' person, is really important. Recognizing that you may need different mentors for different things is equally important."

Criswell touched on the importance of work/life balance. "I had an early mentor who noticed me writing a lot of grants, and he said 'if you spend all your time writing grants, you'll never be able to do your research,'" she said. "It was a 'wow' moment for me. It highlighted a structural problem we have, which is in the absence of support for what we need to do to just survive and get an opportunity. The expectations that we set for ourselves and others can be really unrealistic."

Estrada spoke of the challenges of being a physician while raising school-age children. "I had one child in fellowship and one in residency, and I don't want to miss any part of their lives," she said, noting the post-COVID paradigm shift of many people working from home.

"The expectation is you're available all the time, and that's definitely a challenge," she said. "And some of us also deal with elderly parents, so we just don't have the freedom to move institutions or even travel as much as we would like. One of the things I really enjoy about being a physician-scientist is that it does provide some flexibility in your schedule … I'm able to modulate my schedule to adjust to my family life. That flexibility is definitely a positive."

Goldsmith was asked about what motivated her decision to move from the laboratory and classroom into administration.

"My first love professionally is research and teaching," she said, "and I believe I'll go back to that one day. But I knew I had the qualities to be a good leader. Ultimately, I did it because I felt like I could have more impact, and more positiveimpact, on my profession and on academia by moving up into a leadership role."

The president also stressed the importance of finding the best situation to support your goals.

"I turned down a number of academic leadership jobs because I didn't think they were the right universities where I could have the impact I wanted to have," she said. "In a president's role, you have to make sure it's the right institution and that you have the right leadership around you. It wasn't a conscious choice for me. When I looked at what I wanted to accomplish, there could not have been a better leadership opportunity for me anywhere in the country than the one I found here at Stony Brook."

"Twenty years is a major milestone, and one that I'm proud to celebrate with you today," said Peter Igarashi, Knapp Dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine. "Today's event was founded originally to highlight the contributions of women in medicine and science, while providing a platform for networking, advocacy and well-earned recognition. Two decades later, it reflects our sustained commitment to discovery, opportunity and building a stronger scientific community."

- Robert Emproto