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For more than a decade, two fellowship programs at Harvard Medical School have provided accomplished junior faculty from groups underrepresented in medicine with financial support that enables them to spend a portion of time for two years conducting individual mentored research projects at their respective HMS-affiliated institutions.
Recent recipients of the School’s Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership Faculty Fellowship and Harvard Catalyst Program for Diversity Inclusion Faculty Fellowship gathered online with mentors, department heads, and senior leaders from the School and affiliated hospitals on Oct. 25 to celebrate, to network, and to discuss their work.
Among those on hand to recognize the new fellows were George Q. Daley, dean of HMS, Kevin Churchwell, president and CEO at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Lee Nadler, dean for clinical and translational research at HMS.
“These fellowships are a recognition of the exceptional talent of some of our most dynamic young faculty members, and an acknowledgement of the promise of their research,” said Joan Reede, dean for diversity and community partnership at HMS. “The fellowships are also an important tool for creating a culture of collaboration and inclusive excellence across the Harvard medical community, and beyond, which ultimately will improve medical education and health care for all.”
The fellowships were developed to support talented clinicians and scientists at a key point in their career development and to enhance HMS’s capacity to recruit, train, and retain future leaders from groups underrepresented in medicine and biomedical science, Reede said.
Fifty fellows have participated in the programs. Of the 36 fellowship alumni who remain at HMS, 28 have been promoted, including five full professors and eight associate professors, Reede added.
Program alumni who are no longer on faculty at HMS have taken a variety of positions in academic medicine, health care delivery systems, and pharmaceutical companies.
Each class of fellows is selected by a committee that includes faculty members and members of senior leadership from HMS and its affiliated institutions. The current cohort includes seven fellows who were chosen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During these complex and challenging times, I am pleased that these leaders from HMS-affiliated institutions continue to understand the importance of supporting young faculty members, to recognize the need for fellowship funding, and to champion academic mentorship,” said Daley.
“These fellowships are a testament to the collaborative spirit of our community and to our distinct ability here at HMS to create and nurture tomorrow’s leaders in medicine and science,” Daley added.
Current DICP Faculty Fellows
Monik Jimenez
HMS Assistant Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Project Title: “Examining Stroke Symptoms as Markers of Stroke Risk among Hispanic/Latinx Adults”
Marcella Luercio
HMS Instructor in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital
Project Title: “Role of Implicit Bias in the Assessment of Medical Trainees: Analysis of evaluations and experiences from residents of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds”
Alister Martin
HMS Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital
Project Title: "Expansion of Vot-ER’s Healthy Democracy Kit program as Part of a Nationwide Health Care-Based Voter Registration Campaign"
Carmen Monthé-Drèze
HMS Instructor in Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital
Project Title: “Placental Function, Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediators and Developmental Programming of Adiposity”
Davene Wright
HMS Assistant Professor of Population Medicine at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Research Focus: Developing and deploying mathematical models to optimize decision making and maximize utility for multi-stakeholders in interventions to promote adolescent health and welfare in an intergenerational context.
Current Catalyst PFDI Faculty Fellows
Dennis Spencer
HMS Instructor in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital
Project Title: “Modification of Gut Microbiome Antibiotic Resistance through Dietary Glycans”
Hermioni Amonoo
HMS Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Project Title: “Development of a positive psychology intervention to improve mood and health-related quality of life in patients post hematopoietic stem cell transplantation”
Randy Miles
HMS Assistant Professor of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital
Project Title: “External Validation and Clinical Assessment of a Deep-Learning Risk Prediction Model for Mammography Interpretation”
