Recognizing exemplary individuals who support the success of women at OHSU

October 27, 2015

On Oct. 13, faculty and staff from across OHSU gathered for the annual Women in Academic Medicine (WAM) Leadership Conference, "Defining and Achieving Your Vision of Success at OHSU." Attendees enjoyed round-table discussions, panels and a keynote address by noted career consultant and coach, Janet Bickel, M.A. Watch videos of the panel discussion, plenary session and awards ceremony here.

In addition, awards were given in five categories – mentoring, clinical service, research support, discovery and resiliency. Awardees were nominated by their peers. OHSU Provost Jeanette Mladenovic, M.D., MBA, Dean Mark Richardson, M.D., MBA, Ines Koerner, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, and Mary Stenzel-Poore, Ph.D., senior associate dean for research presented the awards and highlighted the achievements of each awardee (excerpted below).

Mentoring award: Deborah Lewinsohn, M.D., professor of pediatrics

This award recognizes outstanding mentoring activities of an individual faculty member who exemplifies a deep commitment to fostering the development and success of women at OHSU.

"The letters of support submitted for Dr. Lewinsohn attest to her ability to inspire, to challenge, and to share knowledge, as well as her commitment to maintaining the balance between career and personal life for her mentees, encouraging women faculty members, graduate students and residents alike to keep the concept of balance in perspective."

Research support award: Melissa Martenson, M.S., research associate and lab manager, neurological surgery

This award recognizes a woman who supports major clinical or basic science research at OHSU and has made critical contributions to the success of her program.

"She stands out not only as an excellent lab manager who keeps the lab running smoothly;but also as a thoughtful and rigorous scientific leader. Her seminal observations and ideas served as the basis for an R01 to look at the neural mechanisms of photoaversion in rodents, which became the driving motif for translation to chronic pain patients."

Clinical service award: Robin Shaughnessy, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics

This award is given to a woman who has dedicated her career to excellence in patient care. This award recognizes an outstanding clinician, who is a leader in clinical excellence as well as a contributor to education and quality improvement.

"Dr. Shaughnessy has quietly worked at OHSU to provide excellent clinical care for children and to support trainees for well over a decade. During that time, she has consistently had the highest outpatient volume in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology....She also extends her work to include other children with serious healthcare issues as a member of the Ambassador Board of the Oregon Chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation."

Discovery award: Amanda Lund, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell, developmental and cancer biology

This award highlights major contributions being made by a junior or mid-career female scientist at OHSU. The award is given to a woman who demonstrates outstanding achievements in research early in her career, and presents a model to inspire future generations of women in science. 

"Her work focuses on dissecting the functional role of lymphatic vessels in tumor immunity. Dr. Lund is the recipient of a number of major grants including a Department of Defense cancer research award, a Cancer Research Institute award and a V Foundation for Cancer Research grant. Despite the early stage of her career, she has mentored several students and post-doctoral fellows and was integral in developing and running the very popular CDCB summer internship program." 

Resiliency Award: Leslie Kahl, M.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for strategic initiatives

This award is given to a female faculty member to recognize her ability to thrive at work at OHSU after working through a personal or professional life event.

"I'm also personally fortunate to be both one of Dr. Kahl's past mentees and patients (unfortunately), but now I'm a mentee of hers again as I see that it is possible to adapt and rise in response to some of the worst things that I can imagine."  (Dr. Dan Haupt)