Each September, the American Medical Association (AMA) recognizes influential women physician leaders as part of Women in Medicine Month. To showcase the accomplishments of these leaders, the AMA Women Physicians Section and the AMA Foundation (AMAF) have announced the winners of the 2016 Joan F. Giambalvo Fund for the Advancement of Women research grants.
The AMA and AMAF award scholarships of up to $10,000 to research programs that advance the study of women in the medical profession and strengthen the AMA’s ability to identify and address issues that affect women physicians and medical students.
“The grants reaffirm our commitment to increasing the influence of women physicians and advocating for women’s health issues,” said Patrice A. Harris, MD, AMA Board Chair. “Since 2006, the AMA has granted 21 research awards to a variety of pivotal topics that impact me and my fellow colleagues—from flexible work options to promotion and retention of diversity in medical education. This year, the AMA recognizes two exceptional members in medical education whose work acknowledges some of the challenges women in medicine face today.”
2016 Recipients
Shobha W. Stack, MD, PhD
Jennifer Best, MD
The 2016 recipients are Shobha W. Stack, MD, PhD, and Jennifer Best, MD, Acting Instructor and Associate Professor, respectively, in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington. Both are principal investigators for the research project, “Childbearing Among Physicians in Training: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Trends and Factors,” which evaluates factors that influence the length of parental leave and assesses the impact of parental leave on resident trainee well-being and the training environment.
“I have been deeply interested in the issues that women face in medical training since undergoing my own postgraduate years as a new mother,” said Dr. Stack. “With the help of the Giambalvo research grant, we will conduct the first study in more than 20 years specifically addressing present-day parental leave across medical specialties in graduate medical education.”
“We are very grateful to the AMA’s Women Physicians Section for granting us the Giambalvo award but more importantly for prioritizing this research, which will hopefully create a more sustainable environment for women in medicine,” said Dr. Best. ■
