AMA awards grants to researchers studying women in medicine

As part of Women in Medicine Month, the American Medical Association (AMA) Women Physician Sector (WPS) and the AMA Foundation have announced the winners of the 2020 Joan F. Giambalvo Fund for the Advancement of Women research grants program.

According to a news release, the scholarships of up to $10,000 go to health care researchers working to identity and address issues that affect women physicians and medical students. The organizations have granted 29 research awards since 2006 on topics including flexible work options, gender differences in the practice patterns of obstetricians and gynecologists, and the promotion and retention of diversity in medical education.

“During Women in Medicine Month, the AMA is honored to recognize this year’s awardees for their exceptional work to shed light on the important issues facing women in medicine today,” AMA President Susan R. Bailey, MD, says in the release. “Through this annual grant program, the AMA reaffirms its commitment to increasing the influence of women physicians and advocating for women’s health issues.”

One of this year’s winning projects is the creation and assessment of a virtual negotiation workshop for women physicians in an effort to help combat existing discrepancies in pay, position, and perks between men and women particularly in the surgical field. It will be led by It will be led by Anees B. Chagpar, MD, MSc, MPH, MA, MBA, FACS, Professor of Surgery at Yale University.

“I cannot adequately express how thrilled I am to have won this very prestigious award, in part for the award itself, but perhaps more so for the opportunity to design and evaluate a virtual negotiation workshop that can truly be impactful for female physicians and trainees,” Chagpar says in the release.

The other winning project this year is a formal research sponsorship program for women in medicine and science at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine which seeks to increase the presentation of scholarly work at regional and national meetings and publication by women researchers. It is being led by Vidhya Prakash, MD, professor of Clinical Internal Medicine at SIU School of Medicine.

“As a woman in medicine, I am more than aware of the multitude of gender disparities in our field. Women’s lack of academic advancement and lag in the research arena are not only due to gender bias and isolation, but also from a lack of resources including mentorship and networking opportunities,” Prakash says in the release.