ELAM EDGE: YOUR BIWEEKLY NEWSLETTER FOR EVERYTHING ELAM

LEAD STORY

Highlights From Fall 2026 Session

As is the ELAM tradition, our 2026-27 fellows were busy during their first in-person Session in Philadelphia! They successfully completed their Ann Preston case presentations, bonded with their Learning Communities, and are already preparing for the remaining modules and projects for the year. 

EVENTS

ELAM and Korn Ferry Reception: 2026 AAMC Learn. Serve. Lead.

Please join us to gather with colleagues from across academic medicine to reconnect, build new relationships, and spend time with peers who share a commitment to advancing medical education, research, and healthcare.

Date: Sunday, November 8, 2026

Time: 6:30-10 p.m. PT | Remarks beginning at 7:15 p.m. PT

Location: Anaheim Marriott - Platinum Ballroom #9

All are welcome!

Register here for the reception.

Come say hi to ELAM at Booth #836!

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Stay tuned.

SPECIALTY LISTSERVS

Join one or more of our ELAM/ELUM specialty listservs for these areas/affinity groups:

Listserv Requests

To join a specific listserv or if there is a specialty listserv you would like us to create, please contact Joyce Collins at jml575@drexel.edu.

Wondering how ELAM listservs work? 

Click the ELAM Specialty Listservs 101 button below.

ELUM & FELLOW NEWS

Ghada Bourjeily, MD, MA (ELAM ‘23), has been appointed vice dean of Research at Eastern Virginia Medical School, effective January 2027.

Tamera Coyne-Beasley, MD, MPH (ELAM ‘15), has received more than $10 million over five years for her Pediatric Prevention Network grant. This allows Children’s of Alabama Hospital and UAB to participate in a network of 10 centers nationwide.

Angela M. Ellison, MD, MSc (ELAM ‘20), has been named senior vice president and chief medical officer at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, effective November 1, 2026.

Cherae M. Farmer, DDS, MSPH (ELAM ‘21), is the new chair of the board of directors for the American Dental Education Association. She is the first Black woman to lead the organization in its 103-year history.

Michele Heisler, MD, MPH (ELAM' 18), of University of Michigan, Adesuwa (Ade) Olomu, MD, MS (ELAM ‘18), of Michigan State University, and their team secured a $3.3 million NIH grant to support the Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (FY 2026-2030). Dr. Heisler and Dr. Olomu not only collaborated across institutions, but were also in the same LC as fellows, where their collaboration started.

Harriet W. Hopf, MD (ELAM ‘09), was interviewed by Mary K. Mulcahey, MD (ELAM ‘26), on her podcast Lead Change, in an episode titled “Dr. Harriet Hopf – Building Alignment, Creating Change.” Listen here.

Melina R. Kibbe, MD (ELAM ‘12), was celebrated in her investiture as the seventh president of UTHealth Houston. ELUMs also gathered to celebrate this milestone moment.

Pictured L to R: Amber Loung, MD, PhD (ELAM ‘20), Melina R. Kibbe, MD (ELAM ‘12), Vasanthi Jayaraman, PhD (ELAM ‘26), and Bindu Akkanti, MD, FCCP (ELH ‘26).

Amy Kind, MD, PhD (ELAM ‘20), at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, was awarded a $30.9 million, 5-year R01 from the NIH to expand the Neighborhoods Study. Involving 25 sites across the US, the Neighborhoods Study is the largest study in the world to connect life-course social exposome data with brain tissues and their biomarkers. It serves as core US infrastructure enabling a novel understanding of the interplay between environmental factors and Alzheimer's Disease.

Mary E. Klingensmith, MD, FACS (ELAM ‘19), was featured by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in honor of Women in Medicine Month, in an article titled “Women in Medicine: An Interview with Chief Accreditation Officer Mary E. Klingensmith, MD, FACS.”

Sharmila K. Makhija, MD, MBA (ELAM ‘13), was featured on the Women's Foundation of Arkansas, Little Rock Soirée’s 2026 Top 100 Women of Arkansas list.

Gysella B. Muniz, MD, MBA (ELH ‘26), has been selected for the Ralph C. Wilde Leadership Award, presented by the Allegheny County Medical Society (ACMS) Awards Committee. The Ralph C. Wilde Award recognizes a physician who demonstrates exceptional skill in clinical care of patients and dedication to the ideals of the medical profession as a teacher or profession leader.

Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch, DDS, PhD (ELAM ‘13), was recently elected as vice-president of the American Academy of Oral Medicine.

Pina Sanelli, MD, MPH (ELAM ‘27), is now associate dean for Student Affairs at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, effective July 1, 2026.

Lucia Sobrin, MD, MPH (ELAM ‘27), has been named executive vice chair for Mass General Brigham Ophthalmology, effective October 1, 2026.

Rebecca C. Thurston, PhD (ELAM ‘26), at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is part of seven designated research sites for the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), which was awarded over $44 million over the next five years from the NIH to investigate how menopause and midlife factors influence cognitive function, bone health, cardiovascular health and overall well-being as women age.  

Pamela K. Woodard, MD (ELAM ‘26), will be inducted into the National Academy of Medicine on October 17, 2026.

Noushin Yahyavi, MD, MBA (ELH ‘26), was promoted to professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and became president of the American College of Radiology’s District of Columbia Metropolitan Radiological Society (DCMRS).

3 ELUMs are recipients of the 2026 AAMC Presidential Awards. Throughout their careers, these eminent academic medicine leaders have made an indelible impact on medical education, biomedical research, patient care, and community engagement.

ELUMs are listed below:

Shobhina G. Chheda, MD, MPH (ELAM ‘22): 2026 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award

Nadia Ismail, MD, MPH, Med (ELAM ‘24): 2026 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award

Laine Young-Walker, MD (ELAM ‘17): 2026 Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award

8 ELUMs were speakers at the 2026 Women in Medicine Summit, which is the nation’s premier three-day CME event that brings together women in medicine and healthcare across all stages of career and specialties.

ELUMs are listed below:

Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD (ELAM ‘08)

Joanne M. Conroy, MD (ELAM ‘98)

Debra E. Houry, MD, MPH (ELAM ‘14)

Maya S. Iyer, MD, MEd (ELAM ‘26)

Pauline M. Maki, PhD (ELAM ‘10)

Mary K. Mulcahey, MD (ELAM ‘26)

Julie Samora, MD, PhD (ELH ‘24)

Kimberly Templeton, MD (ELAM ‘21)

Pictured (right): Debra E. Houry, MD, MPH (ELAM ‘14), presenting “What I Learned from the ER, How to Lead with Integrity through Chaos.”

Pictured L to R: Breanne Jacobs, MD, Maya S. Iyer, MD, MEd (ELAM ‘26), Julie Samora, MD, PhD (ELH ‘24), and Rebecca Hellmann, DO, MSEd, on a panel “Breaking the Silence: Addressing Bullying and Harassment Among Women in Medicine.”

Pictured L to R: Mary K. Mulcahey, MD (ELAM ‘26), Archana Chatterjee, MD, PhD (ELAM ‘08), and Maya S. Iyer, MD, MEd (ELAM ‘26).

ELUM and Fellow News for the ELAM EDGE

Please submit news, announcements, and accomplishments for the ELAM Edge using THIS FORM.

ELUM and Fellow Professional Updates for the ELAM DATABASE

Please submit professional changes (titles, institutions, contact info) by logging into the ELAM Portal.

ELUM & FELLOW PUBLICATIONS

Journal of the American Dental Association, June 2026:

Living evidence-informed guideline on the early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma and potentially malignant disorders - Vital staining adjuncts to determine the need for biopsy, Version 2026 1.0

Martins-Pfeifer C, Urquhart O, Verdugo-Paiva F, Bhosale AS, Carrasco-Labra A, Pimentel J, Sadek N, Kerr AR, Magalhaes M, Murdoch-Kinch CA, Gurenlian J, Agrawal N, Chaturvedi AK, Grayzel E, Pearson AT, Melville JC, Patel ASH, Villa A, Glick M, Lingen MW

Journal of the American Dental Association, September 2026:

Living evidence-informed guideline on the early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma and potentially malignant disorders: Light-based adjuncts to determine the need for biopsy, Version 2026 1.0

Bhosale AS, Martine-Pfeifer C, Verdugo-Paiva F, Urquhart O, Carrasco-Labra A, Pimentel J, Kerr AR, Magalhaes M, Murdoch-Kinch CA, Gurenlian J, Agrawal N, Chaturvedi AK, Grayzel E, Pearson AT, Melville JC, Patel ASH, Villa A, Glick M, Lingen MW

Journal of Hospital Medicine, September 29, 2026:

The leader's compass: Reimagining leadership in chaotic times

Sarah K. Wood MD, Nancy D. Spector MD

Have You Recently Been Published?

Please submit direct links to publications using THIS FORM.

ARTICLES OF NOTE

JAMA Network, September 28, 2026:

Will Women Physicians Face an AI Gap?

In this episode of JAMA+ AI Conversations, Roy Perlis, MD, MSc, and Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and former CDC Director, discuss the potential for AI deployment in health care to adversely impact women physicians, and why simply avoiding these technologies is not a realistic response.

CALLS FOR APPLICATION, NOMINATION, ETC.

Lasker Clinical Research Scholars:

An Historic Intramural-Extramural Partnership

to Nurture the Next Generation of Clinical Researchers

The program supports clinical researchers in the early stages of their independent careers. Lasker Scholars are appointed as tenure-track investigators in the NIH Intramural Research Program for 5-7 years, followed by 3 years of funding at an extramural research institution (up to $499,000 direct costs per year) or continued appointment in the intramural program. Candidates must have a clinical doctoral degree and a professional license to practice in the United States and cannot already have obtained tenure.

The application deadline for this round is November 6, 2026. Please address questions to Dr. Charles Dearolf at laskerscholar@nih.gov.

Learn more and apply.

Please submit any calls for applications, nominations, or other relevant leadership opportunities to Joyce Collins at jml575@drexel.edu.

CAREER SERVICES

Learn about the benefits of ELAM's Institutions for Leadership Advancement membership.

JOB POSTINGS

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please email elamcareers@drexel.edu

THE LAST WORD

PR Newswire, October 6, 2026:

50/50 Women on Boards™ Annual Gender Diversity Index™ Report Reveals First Decline in the Share of Board Seats Held by Women in More Than a Decade

50/50 Women on Boards™, the leading global nonprofit advancing the business case for diverse boards, today announced the findings of its annual Gender Diversity Index™ report, 2026 State of Board Leadership.

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