The University College of Medicine Women in Medicine & Science Group has the great pleasure to announce the 2022 winner of the Grace Kawas LeMasters “Lift While You Climb” Mentoring Award. Mentoring is vital to the advancement of women in academic science and medicine and this work often goes unrecognized or unrewarded. Grace Kawas LeMasters, PhD, UC Emeritus Professor, has established this award to celebrate those unsung heroes. In particular, this award honors someone who has embodied the same spirit that Dr. LeMasters maintained in lifting less senior women towards achieving both personal and professional goals.

Our winner of the LWYC award for 2022 is Elizabeth (Liz) Leenellett, MD, FACEP. She is a Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs and Inclusive Excellence, as well as the W. Brian Gibler, MD, Endowed Chair for Education in Emergency Medicine. In addition, she is Chief of Staff elect at West Chester Hospital. Dr. Leenellett was nominated for this award by Arthur M. Pancioli, MD, FACEP, Hannah R. Hughes, MD, MBA, Kelli L. Jarrell, MD, MPH, Sarah Wolochatiuk, MD, MBA, and Melanie Yates, MD.

The award honors her many efforts to advance junior female faculty and the inclusion of women within the scientific and medical communities. Her nominators note that Dr. Leenellett  “has dedicated her career to paying forward the lessons she has learned and to removing barriers disproportionately facing women and underrepresented groups in medicine, establishing UC Emergency Medicine Program of Women in LeadERship (EMPOWER) in 2017, developing UC Leadership Excels in Achievement of Diversity (UC LEADS), and creating her current position as Vice Chair of Diversity for the Department.”

In addition to recognizing Dr. Leenellett with an awards ceremony this coming fall, she will receive a monetary award of $2,000 to be used for professional development.  All UC & CCHMC College of Medicine faculty and staff are invited to the awards ceremony and WIMS virtual presentation in the fall to learn from the excellent mentorship efforts of Dr. Leenellett. Subscribe to WIMS today to be invited!

The University College of Medicine Women in Medicine & Science Group is dedicated to the recruitment, advancement and retention of all women faculty and trainees in the College of Medicine. The overall mission is to advance the careers and leadership skills of our members.

We would like to also honor the many others who were nominated for their extraordinary achievements in mentoring, as follows:

First Runner-up:

• Jennifer K. O'Toole, MD, MEd, SFHM, Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine; Program Director, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Top Five:

• Heather R. Christensen, PhD, Associate Professor – Educator, UC College of Medicine.
• Selena L. Hariharan, MD, MHSA, Professor, Pediatrics; Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
• Jaime Lewis, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, UC College of Medicine.

Finally, because we had such an outstanding set of nominees who have demonstrated excellent mentoring, Honorable Mention has been awarded to the following nominees in recognition of their efforts.

Honorable Mentions:

• Jennifer L. Cavitt, MD
• Lara A. Danziger-Isakov, MD, MPH
• Jennifer Wall Forrester, MD, FACP, FIDSA
• Jessica G. Woo, PhD, MHSA, FAHA
• Stuart L. Goldstein, MD, FAAP, FNKF
• Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD
• Pooja Khatri, MD, MSc.
• Amy T. Makley, MD
• Wendy J. Pomerantz, MD, MS
• Ahmad R. Sedaghat, MD, PhD
• Soma Sengupta, MD, PhD, FRCP
• Erin L. Thase, PhD
• Andrew T. Trout, MD
• Christine M. White, MD, MAT
• Kathryn A. Wikenheiser-Brokamp, MD, PhD
• Sara E. Williams, PhD
• Katherine Yutzey, PhD

For more information about UC WIMS, please contact Stephanie Schuckman.