By Corrinne Fahl
Ann Preston MD (1813-1872)
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it is the appropriate time to celebrate the women in medicine who have come before us. In the last century since the Flexner Report, the proportion of women in leadership positions still has a long journey ahead. A 2018 AAMC report notes that in 2018, women account for 16% of deans, 18% of department chairs, and 25% of full professors. Here at the Perelman School of Medicine, we are ahead of these benchmarks with women representing 33% of our department chairs and xx % of full professors, as of 2022. With this background in mind, the highlighted biography of this key figure in American Academic Medicine takes on added meaning. …
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By Kya Hertz, CDP
Dr. Charles R. Drew was a pioneering physician and medical researcher who made significant contributions to the fields of medicine and science, especially around blood transfusion and storage. His work has saved countless lives and helped to lay the foundation for the modern blood banking industry.
Born in Washington D.C., Drew was the oldest of five children and showed an early aptitude for science and medicine. After completing his undergraduate education at Amherst College in Massachusetts, he went on to earn a degree in medicine from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Drew's groundbreaking research into blood transfusion and storage began during his residency at New York's Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. In the early 1940s, he was appointed…
Read more on Black History Month Spotlight: Dr. Charles R. Drew (1904-1950)
By Jack Drummond, Director of Restorative Practices
The Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (OIDE) encourages you to recognize and celebrate the contributions made by African Americans during Black History Month. Notable contributions in fields such as medicine, law, science, technology, and art have greatly shaped our world and continue to shape the future.
As we honor these contributions, let us also recognize there is still progress to be made, by encouraging open discussions about race, mitigating biases, and promoting acceptance and understanding of all people and perspectives, with a focus on healing.
The Action for Cultural Transformation (ACT) strategic initiative continues to focus on eliminating structural injustice and unifying Penn Medicine as an anti-racist, equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization. As we celebrate this month, we also…
Read more on OIDE Black History Month Event focusing on Restorative Practices
By Kya Hertz CDP, Assistant Director
Since the inception of the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in 2013 we have focused on the advancement of inclusion, diversity, and equity initiatives at Penn Medicine. Over the past few years there has been a steady increase in the diversity of academic scholars, scientist, and clinicians, traditionally underrepresented in medicine and science.
The events of spring 2020 resulted in an intensification of efforts that created the first strategic initiative to unite the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) and the University Health System (UPHS) in efforts to build a more inclusive culture and address residual elements of structural racism. We saw over 96% of you engage in unconscious bias training, the launch of IDEAL XP, the creation of an…
Read more on OIDE Reflection: Past, Present and Future
By Corrinne Fahl
National Hispanic Heritage Month
We would like to celebrate our Hispanic & Latinx faculty in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Our Hispanic faculty members have increased from 2.39% Hispanic in 2012 to 3.34% Hispanic in 2022. Although there has been only marginal progress in recruiting and retaining our self-identified Hispanic faculty, their contributions have outpowered their representation. We are pleased to highlight five of our faculty members in celebrations of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Dr. Iris Reyes, MD FACEP was the first Latina to be promoted to Full Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine
Dr. Reyes is a Professor of Clinical Emergency at the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) at the University of Pennsylvania. She has served as…
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By Hoag Levins
The University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) is launching a new initiative to support research on improving the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), with a particular focus on addressing disparities including structural barriers and racial inequities. The three-year research initiative is made possible by a $2.5 million gift from Monogram Health.
Called the Penn LDI Research Initiative on Improving Management of Chronic Kidney Disease, the effort will involve Penn LDI Senior Fellows and research teams that have been at the forefront of identifying drivers of CKD progression and barriers to the use of home dialysis therapies, transplantation, and palliative care.
Penn LDI is the University’s hub of health services research with more than 500…
Read more on Penn LDI Launches $2.5 Million CKD Research Initiative
By Eve J. Higginbotham SM, MD, ML
The vision of our shared initiative, Action for Cultural Transformation (ACT) is to build a more inclusive culture. Since its inception, progress has been made on a number of key initiatives however, as many have stated in the process, “This is not a sprint but a marathon.†Achieving that goal comes in many forms. One notable strategy is to understand key policies and opportunities to optimize the lives of our patients, colleagues, and members of our family.
Today, July 26th marks the 32nd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a critically transformative Civil Rights legislation that facilitates and reassures the full engagement of individuals with disabilities in the community. As a result of…
Read more on Acknowledging National Disability Independence Day
By Eve J. Higginbotham SM, MD, ML
On June 19, 2022, the nation will acknowledge for the second year, the day that enslaved Americans in the last original confederate state, first learned that President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Hundreds of miles away from Washington DC, deep in the heart of Texas, individuals were finally freed from an existence few of us can ever imagine surviving for even one hour. Imagine learning for the first time that this federal edict signed on January 1, 1863 and not hearing this news, for the first time, until June 19 1865. Can you imagine learning for the first time, more than two years had passed before you were told that you are free? Although you appreciate the restoration of the…
Read more on Reflecting on the Significance of Juneteenth in Present Day We Celebrate a New Federal Holiday: Year 2
By Eve J. Higginbotham SM, MD, ML
Imagine yourself enjoying time with friends in a small bar in New York and, without warning, joyous moments are unceremoniously interrupted by police. The atmosphere instantly is transformed to what feels like a battlefield. Several of your friends are taken to jail. The entire neighborhood is seemingly engaged in the conflict, and days of continued disruption follow. The Stonewall Riots in 1969 launched a movement which resulted in continued activitism for civil rights within the LGBTQ+ community and increased social acceptance, creating pockets of a greater sense of belonging across the nation. Philadelphia and its residents have also been central to this movement with the first gay rights demonstrations in the US occurring right outside Independence Hall every July 4…
Read more on Honoring Pride Month at Penn Medicine
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