Task Force on Women's Academic Careers in Medicine
Annual Sponsorship Award
This award recognizes a Department of Medicine Faculty member who has demonstrated a commitment to supporting and advancing women faculty and fellows by acting as a sponsor. Sponsorship Awards are presented at the Task Force Annual Dinner.
A sponsor is a person in a leadership position who actively supports the career advancement of a more junior faculty member or trainee in whom they see career and leadership potential. Sponsorship activities may include but are not limited to the following: nominating women for (i) awards, (ii) scholarships, (iii) editorial boards, (iv) meeting/session chairs, (v) high profile institutional and national committees. A sponsor may also play a key role in coaching women for leadership roles. A mentor may act as a sponsor, although not all mentors are in a position to serve as a sponsor. Recent evidence suggests that sponsorship is important for career success, and may be critical to advancing the careers of women and under-represented minorities as well as addressing disparities in leadership positions.
Annual Sponsorship Awardees
Cynthia Boyd, M.D.
2024
Professor of Medicine
Director, Division of Geriatric Medicine & Gerontology

Flora Kisuule, M.D.
Director, Department of Medicine
William Osler Professor of Medicine
Professor of Medicine, Genetic Medicine, and Physiology

Meredith McCormack, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Associate Director, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine

Wendy S. Post, M.D., M.S.
Professor of Medicine
Director of Cardiovascular Research, Division of Cardiology

Mark E. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Department of Medicine
William Osler Professor of Medicine
Professor of Medicine, Genetic Medicine, and Physiology

Roger S. Blumenthal, MD
Kenneth Jay Pollin Professor of Cardiology
Director of Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

Sara E. Cosgrove, MD

Daniel E. Ford, MD, MPH

Rachel B. Levine, MD, MPH

Josef Coresh, MD, PhD

Nadia Hansel, MD, MPH

Lisa A. Cooper, MD, MPH

Robert A. Wise, MD

Sonye Danoff, MD, PhD

David Levine, MD

Lawrence J. Appel, MD, MPH

Trish Perl, MD, MSc

Jeanne Clark, MD, MPH

Roy Ziegelstein, MD, MPH

Annual Sponsorship Award Dinner
The TF sponsors an annual dinner to highlight and celebrate the accomplishments of women in academic medicine and provide an opportunity for women faculty to build relationships with other women in the DOM. Past speakers have included many accomplished women from the DOM and beyond.
Past Speakers
LaPrincess C. Brewer, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA
Associate Professor of Medicine
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Division of Preventive Cardiology
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Founding Director, FAITH! (Fostering African-American Improvement in Total Health) Program

Janet Bickel, MA
Leadership and Career Development Coach and Consultant

Amy S. Gottlieb, MD, FACP
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at UMass Chan Medical School – Baystate
Chief Faculty Development Officer at Baystate Health
Professor of Medicine at UMass– Baystate

Janine Austin Clayton, MD

Andrea L. Sikon, MD, FACP

Diana McNeill, MD, FACP

Andrea Lynn Cox, MD, PhD

Sherita Hill Golden, MD, MHS

Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil

Robin Ely, PhD

Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH

Janet Bickel, MA
Leadership and Career Development Coach and Consultant

Leadership Development
In partnership with the DOM leadership, the TF nominates and supports women faculty to attend institutional and national leadership development programs, including the Emerging Women’s Leadership Program (EWLP) and the Leadership Program for Women Faculty (LPWF) through the Office of Faculty: Women in Science and Medicine, as well as the AAMC women’s leadership programs.
Tracking Gender Equity
TF members attend Divisional Reviews to raise awareness of gender representation and to serve as a resource to divisional leaders in their efforts to enhance gender equity and to recruit and retain women faculty and trainees.
Data Collection
The TF tracks leadership roles in the DOM, monitors salary equity, promotions, awards, and the composition of key DOM committees.

Exit Interviews
The TF tracks attrition of faculty and conducts interviews with women faculty leaving the DOM.
Networking and Career Development Events
To bring DOM women together to discuss various topics including mentoring, work-life balance, career advancement, etc.
Events include:
- CV review workshops
- Mentorship and sponsorship sessions
- Career and leadership panels
- Work-life integration discussions
- Job negotiation workshops