|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Six faculty members were recognized for excellence across the career spectrum during the 2020 Women’s Faculty Awards. Colleen Harrington, MD, assistant professor of medicine; Seema Adhami, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and neurology; Carolynn DeBenedectis, MD, associate professor of radiology; Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, professor of RNA therapeutics; Suzanne Cashman, ScD, professor of family medicine & community health; and Jennifer Bradford, MD, assistant professor of family medicine & community health, were honored in online proceedings on Monday, May 18.
The annual awards honor women in science and health care for achievements throughout their careers. Awardees are recognized for early career achievement, clinical service, mentoring, science and health, education, and community service.
“This event both recognizes and reinforces one of our core institutional strengths: our women faculty leaders who contribute in myriad ways to the dynamism that is our medical school,” Chancellor Michael F. Collins said in his opening remarks. “We’re fortunate to have an abundance of women leaders like them who are role models for all of us.”
Heather Forkey, MD, delivered the keynote address “What’s All this Carrying On? COVID, Cortisol and Connecting.” Dr. Forkey, who previously received a Women’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Clinical Service, is associate professor of pediatrics, chief of the Division of Child Protection, director of the Foster Children Evaluation Service and the current Joy McCann Professor for Women.
Noting that UMass Medical School is faring well as an institution in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Forkey said, “We’ve carried on in large part because of the women who are part of our teams here. Women who carry on with vision, with creativity and with a sense of organization are the ones who are successful and create a context for other women to be successful. That’s what today’s winners have done.”
The awards were presented by Awards Subcommittee of the Women’s Faculty Committee co-chairs Amy Costigan, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine, and Wendy Marsh, MD, MS, associate professor of psychiatry. Rachel Gerstein, PhD, associate professor of microbiology & physical systems and co-chair of the Women’s Faculty Committee, made closing remarks.
The event is sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs and the Women’s Faculty Committee of the Diversity and Equal Opportunity Office.
The 2020 awards and honorees are:
Early Career Achievement in Science & Health Award
Colleen Harrington, MD, assistant professor of medicine
Excellence in Clinical Service Award
Seema Adhami, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and neurology
Outstanding Mentoring to Women Faculty Award
Carolynn DeBenedectis, MD, associate professor of radiology
Women in Science & Health Achievements Award
Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, professor of RNA therapeutics
Sarah Stone Excellence in Education Award
Suzanne Cashman, ScD, professor of family medicine & community health
Outstanding Community Service Award
Jennifer Bradford, MD, MPH, assistant professor of family medicine & community health
