Five female faculty members receive prestigious fellowships in leadership and health care roles

More than half of incoming medical students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine are female and 37% of college leadership are female. Facilitating the growth in the number of women and those underrepresented in medicine is part of the college’s mission. As is ensuring faculty have the training, mentorship and opportunities to advance in leadership positions. 

One program within the academic health community known for its effectiveness in training senior female faculty to advance in executive leadership is the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) program. ELAM is hosted by Drexel University College of Medicine and includes a one-year, part-time fellowship designed to develop personal and professional skills required to lead and manage in today’s complex health care environment. ELAM alumnae number over 1,200 and serve in leadership positions at 295 academic health centers around the world. A second program, the Executive Leadership in Health Care program, is a year-long, part-time fellowship intended for women in mid-career to senior-level leadership positions in U.S. and Canadian health systems. 

Two faculty members at the College of Medicine will join ELAM’s ranks this year — Pari Pandharipande, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the Department of Radiology at the College of Medicine, and Laxmi Mehta, MD, professor of Internal Medicine at the College of Medicine and director of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Lipid Clinics.  

Dr. Pandharipande is a physician-scientist with experience in directing a multidisciplinary health outcomes research institute and has an impressive history in clinical operations, research, academic affairs and mentoring, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. As an ELAM fellow, Dr. Pandharipande will use her development as a leader to help the medical center to strive toward our goal of becoming a top-ranked health care organization. Through ELAM, she will learn how to affect change from multiple leaders who are facing similar challenges, and who have addressed them successfully.  
Dr. Mehta has a tremendous leadership trajectory both within Ohio State and the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Mehta is a strong, well-respected national leader in clinical and scientific endeavors, and an ardent spokesperson for her fellow physicians. She is an enthusiastic advocate for patient care as well as for the practice of medicine and gender equity. The ELAM program will provide Dr. Mehta the essential tools to effectively collaborate and negotiate with diverse health care professionals and local leaders as she embarks on improving efficiency of practice and the culture across health care teams.  

“Dr. Pandharipande and Dr. Mehta will undoubtedly make the most of each opportunity the ELAM program provides them," says Carol R. Bradford, MD, MS, FACS, dean of the College of Medicine.  

In late autumn, Women in Medicine and Science solicits nominations from emerging Ohio State College of Medicine leaders to select candidates to apply for the fellowship. The Ohio State College of Medicine’s Clara Lee, MD, associate professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and Dana McTigue, PhD, professor of Neuroscience, are  2022 ELAM graduates, now alumni who are also known as ELUMs. 

Additionally, Carmen Quatman, MD, PhD, associate professor of Orthopedics, Vidya Raman, MD, clinical professor of Anesthesiology, and Meredith Lind, MD, clinical associate professor of Otolaryngology, were selected for the Executive Leadership in Health Care program, a yearlong, part-time fellowship intended for women in mid-career to senior-level leadership positions in U.S. and Canadian health systems. 

Congratulations to this years ELAM fellows, ELUMs and ELH fellows!