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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Charleston, S.C. (Oct. 29, 2013) – A handful of women scientists at The Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Medicine (COM) are making history as the first recipients from a medical school to receive funding by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) ADVANCE program.
The principal investigator on the project is breast imaging pioneer and dean of the College of Medicine, Etta D. Pisano, M.D.Born in 2001, the ADVANCE program seeks to not only substantially boost the number of women and others underrepresented in academic science and engineering, but also to improve the way they advance through their careers.
The project funded at the College of Medicine is entitled ARROWS (Advancement, Recruitment and Retention of Women in Science), and will receive $650,000 over four years. Pisano and COM faculty including Ashli J. Sheidow, Ph.D., (Psychiatry), Tamara Nowling, Ph.D., (Medicine), Cristina Lopez, Ph.D. (Psychiatry), and Rosalie Crouch, Ph.D. (Ophthalmology) will implement the program.
ARROWS hopes to change the trajectory of women’s careers in a field that historically has been dominated by men in its leadership positions. The team will put forth a package of practices and policies that will specifically benefit basic science women in the immediate environment of a single medical school, as well as hopefully usher cultural change within other medical schools across the U.S. by helping them to recruit, retain, and advance women scientists, including ethnic minority women.
“We’ve come a long way. Women now lead medical schools and other big and important ventures. But, there aren’t enough of us in leadership or in science. This NSF grant will help us develop methods to improve support for the careers of women in science at MUSC and other similar institutions,” Pisano said.
“Women in STEM disciplines – which are science, technology, engineering and math, are finding it very challenging to succeed. ARROWS will be a step toward changing what’s possible for women in science.”ARROWS co-principal investigator Sheidow added, “Medical schools employ a third of the nation’s academic scientists, and one quarter of medical school faculty are academic scientists. Interestingly, more women scientists are employed at medical schools than men scientists. Women scientists in medical schools face unique challenges compared to scientists in traditional academic settings. This project is designed to target those challenges.”
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.7 billion. MUSC operates a 750-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children’s Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (one of 66 National Cancer Institute designated centers) and a leading Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic information or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu.
For more information on hospital patient services, visit www.muschealth.com.
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