WISMAC: Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee   

WISMAC is a UT Southwestern institutional standing committee composed of appointed representatives of the faculty, administration, fellows, and student body. The committee provides advice and initiatives on issues related to women in science and medicine, with the ultimate goal to improve UT Southwestern for everyone. We are supported by the Southwestern Medical Foundation.  The navigational links (at left) lead you to information on this web site, which pertains to women in science and medicine.  If you would like to make suggestions or contribute information, please contact us at: WISMAC@utsouthwestern.edu.

Nobel Laureates Call for Gender Balance in Science Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider, two Nobel Prize winners of 2009 who are also WISMAC honorees of past Visiting Professorships Honoring Women in Science & Medicine, have urged scientific institutions to make some active alterations in their career structures. They point out that women do really well in sciences but are often daunted by the lack of flexibility in career structure at a life crux where they have to balance having a family and advancing in their scientific careers. Drs. Blackburn and Grieder call for a more flexible approach to part-time research or career breaks for women scientists as well as incorporation of women into key committees and decision-making positions. The two Nobel laureates emphasize that active measures need to be taken to help more women scientists reach top positions. [adapted from AWIS Washington Wire Dec. 2009 Issue I] Even out gender gap = http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9263248

Ellen Vitetta, Ph.D., is professor and director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center at UT Southwestern and the former chair of WISMAC.  She is also an honoree of the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.  You can learn about her accomplishments at this Hall of Fame web page: http://www.twu.edu/TWHF/video.asp?id=evitetta [Posted March 28, 2008]

The Women in Science and Medicine Guide to information resources on the UT Southwestern Library Web site was developed in collaboration with WISMAC.  The Guide lists Web sites, books and databases arranged under headings such as:
-- Biography and History
-- Career Guidance/Management
-- Gender, Science & Medicine
-- Professional Organizations
-- Recommended Titles

Upcoming WISMAC-Sponsored Events:

February 3-4, 2010 For the 2009-2010 academic year, Southwestern Medical Foundation's Ida M. Green Distinguished Visiting Professorship Honoring Women in Science and Medicine will feature Joan Brugge, Ph.D., who is professor and chair of the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School.  She will give the University Lecture on February 3, 2010 at 4 PM in Excellence in Education Foundation Auditorium (NB2.102). Her lecture is entitled, Extracellular Matrix Regulation of Cell Survival and Metabolism.  Read more. [updated  12/7/2009]

March 6, 2010 WISMAC joins with STARS (Science Teacher Access to Resources at Southwestern) for an all day Saturday presentation of information and workshops on careers in science and medicine.  The audience will be junior and high school teachers plus their selected female students.  Student representatives of WISMAC will play the star roles in this event.

September, 2010 WISMAC plans to organize a career development event and schedule it for late in the month.  Stay tuned for updates...

February 1-3, 2011 For the 2010-2011 academic year Southwestern Medical Foundation's Ida M. Green Distinguished Visiting Professorship Honoring Women in Science and Medicine will feature Nancy Andrews, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics and Dean of Duke University School of Medicine. The first female president of Duke's medical school, Dr.  Andrews, reflects on the hubbub caused by her appointment. She considers how the culture of medicine has and has not changed, and the importance of leveling the playing field for women in academia as well as corporate America. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/357/19/1887

Recent WISMAC-sponsored Events

November 17, 2009  WISMAC organized a career development workshop entitled, "Leadership Training:  Recognizing and Motivating Different Work Styles."  In this workshop participants learned how to use the DISC assessment method, a non-judgmental tool for classifying different characteristics of  behavior.  Knowledge of these basic behavior styles is often used to increase group cooperativity, understanding, and productivity.   This workshop was offered to all faculty, postdoctoral scholars and students (male & female) who pre-registered and completed an on-line assessment.  The workshop was held at 4:00-5:30 PM in the AW Harris Faculty-Alumni Center with extended time (3:30 - 6 PM) provided to network with refreshments.  [updated 11/23/2009]

September 25, 2009 All female faculty were invited to our Fall Welcoming Reception at 4:30 - 6 PM in the A.W. Harris Faculty-Alumni Center.  [9/28/2009]

April 4, 2009 WISMAC joined with STARS (Science Teacher Access to Resources at Southwestern) for an all day Saturday presentation of information and demonstrations on careers in science and medicine.  The audience was junior and high school teachers plus their selected female students.  Student representatives on WISMAC and other student volunteers played the star roles in this event.

February 3-5, 2009 She presented the University Lecture titled "Telomerase and the Consequences of Telomere Dysfunction" on February 4, 2009. [updated February 2009]

November 20 & 21, 2008  Negotiation Skills was the topic of WISMAC’s fall career development symposium. Linda Wilcox, ombudsperson at Harvard Medical School,  made two similar presentations from which junior faculty, postdoctoral scholars and students could choose to attend.