June 2, 2006

2006 Claflin Scholars named

Clinician, researcher, teacher, mother — all important titles. Six talented female MGH staff members recently added another moniker to their already long and rich multihyphenated lists: Claflin Distinguished Scholar. In recognition of the particular challenge faced by women in academic medicine who also are raising families, the MGH Women in Academic Medicine Committee developed the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards in 1997 to support the research productivity of female junior faculty members during their child-rearing years. The awards, funded by the Executive Committee on Research and the MGH, are named for honorary trustee Jane D. Claflin.

The 2006 Claflin scholars are Emmanuelle diTomaso, PhD, of Radiation Oncology; Maria Angela Franceschini, PhD, of Radiology and the NMR Center; Elizabeth Lamont, MD, of Hematology-Oncology; Madhusmita Misra, MD, MPH, of the Neuroendocrine and Pediatric Endocrine Units; Kathryn Moore, PhD, of the Lipid Metabolism Unit; and Marielle Scherrer-Crosbie, MD, PhD, of Cardiology.

"This award could not have come at a better time for me," says 2006 recipient and mother of two Scherrer-Crosbie (pictured at left). A cardiologist in the MGH Cardiac Ultrasound lab, she will use her grant to advance her current study, a model for early detection and prevention of heart damage in breast cancer patients treated with two chemotherapeutic agents.

In addition to juggling a full load of patients and research at the MGH,
Scherrer-Crosbie is raising six-year-old Alexandre and three-year-old Nicolas. "Balancing so many responsibilities can be difficult," Scherrer-Crosbie says. "It
says so much that the MGH works to help its female faculty manage the challenge."

While many working mothers experience the greatest struggle to balance home and office life during their children's infancy, for Misra (pictured at right), the Claflin award will enable her to spend more time with her son as he begins his teenage years. "When Sarthak was younger, I did a lot of my work after he went to bed," Misra says. "Now that he is 13, I want to be able to spend time nurturing our shared interests and guiding him through these formative years."

A pediatric endocrinologist, Misra is examining bone mass accrual in adolescents suffering from anorexia nervosa. This grant will extend her research to major
depression in teenagers.

For more information about the Claflin awards, contact the Office of Women's Careers at (617) 724-5229.