AHC Duluth Women's Mentoring Program

Fall 2024
 

September 25, 8:30 - 9:30 AM
Women's Mentoring meeting with guest Dr. Kelly Lane, Assistant Professor, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus.
Host: Sara Zimmer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, UMN Medical School, Duluth campus.
Location: SMED 134
Meeting Topic: As part of Biology Teaching and Learning, Dr. Lane is a co-investigator on the Minnesota IRACDA grant, and leads additional research in teaching and learning as a PI through the National Science Foundation. This is a great opportunity to discuss what it takes to be successful as a researcher pursuing an educational scholarship agenda!

October 23, 8:30 - 9:30 AM
Women's Mentoring breakfast meeting with guest Dr. Jenny Sones, Associate Professor of Equine Reproduction, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University.
Host: Sara Zimmer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, UMN Medical School, Duluth campus.
Location: SMED 134
Meeting Topic: Join me and others of the Women's Mentoring Group in discussion with the very accomplished Jenny Sones, DVM, PhD, on October 23. Dr. Sones has done work in preeclampsia, fetal programming and microbiome using mouse models and will be giving a seminar at 12:15 later that day. As Dr. Sones is a faculty member in a College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, her perspectives on achieving scholarly success will be unique for us.

Spring 2025

March 5, 8:00 - 9:00 AM
Women's Mentoring breakfast meeting with Dr. Lisa Savage, Professor of Psychology at Binghamton University (NY). Dr. Savage is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe.
Host: Sara Zimmer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, UMN Medical School, Duluth campus.
Location: SMED 134
Meeting Topic: join me and others members of the Women's Mentoring Group for a great discussion. Between Dr. Savage's experiences as a researcher in the fields of learning and memory, alcohol-related brain damage and recovery, and her initiatives to support underrepresented students in STEM, she comes with a breadth of knowledge that should interest many in our group.

April 2, 8:00 - 9:00 AM
Women's Mentoring breakfast meeting  with Dr. Tara LeGates, Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland.
Host: Sara Zimmer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, UMN Medical School, Duluth campus.
Location: SMED 134
Meeting Topic: join me and others members of the Women's Mentoring Group for a great discussion with Dr. Tara LeGates. Dr. LeGates is a neuroscientist, who is also our AHC Duluth Seminar speaker (4/2/25 at 12:15 PM) hosted by Emilia Lefevre, PhD, in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Medical School, Duluth campus. We look forward to a wonderful discussion with this early career investigator about challenges and opportunities in academic medicine.

April 16, 8:00 - 9:00 AM
Women's Mentoring breakfast meeting  with Alanna Watt, PhD, Professor and Chair of Biology, McGill University, Canada.
Host: Sara Zimmer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, UMN Medical School, Duluth campus.
Location: SMED 134
Meeting Topic: join me and others members of the Women's Mentoring Group for a great discussion with Dr. Alanna Watt. Dr. Watt's experiences as an Associate Dean and her position as incoming chair of the Gordon Research Conference on the Cerebellum reveals the types of insights she may be able to bring to our conversation. 
 

Spring 2024

January 10, 2024,  Noon-1 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with guest Abigail Johnson, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, UMN School of Public Health
Host: Dr. Sara Zimmer, Associate Professor
Location: SMED398
Meeting Topic: This lunch with Dr. Johnson is a great opportunity to build connections in other colleges of the Twin Cities campus.

March 27, Noon-1 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with guest Anna L Peters, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, OH
Host: Dr. Sara Zimmer, Associate Professor
Location: SMED398
Meeting Topic: Join us for a discussion of how Dr. Peters balances her clinical and research responsibilities, and other topics of professional development over lunch.

May 8,  Noon-1 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with guest Teresa M Dunn, PhD, Professor and Chair, School of Medicine, Biochemistry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 
Seminar Title: "Sphingolipid Synthesis Gone Awry; Structural Insights into Neurological Diseases Resulting from Variants in SPT"
Host: Dr. Sara Zimmer, Associate Professor 
Location: SMED263
Meeting Topic: The meeting will focus on Dr. Dunn's academic experiences, as well as similarities and differences to ours at the U of MN.

May 22,  Noon-1 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with guest Janelle Taylor, PhD, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Canada. 
Seminar Title: Borderlands of Aging, Dementia, Care and Ethnography
Host: Dr. Sara Zimmer, Associate Professor
Location: SMED398
Meeting Topic: As our guest, she brings insight into how we can make our scholarship accessible to non-academics; one of her Medical Anthropology Quarterly articles was adapted to a story for the radio show This American Life. Join us to explore this and other topics with Dr. Taylor over lunch!

Fall 2022

All lunches are hosted in Smed 398, unless notified otherwise, by Dr. Sara Zimmer, Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

September 28, 1-2 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with AHC Seminars' guest-speaker Katharine Lee, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Tulane University. Learn more about Dr. Katharine Lee on her web biography.
Location: SMED/LifeSci greenhouse courtyard weather-permitting (alternate location: SMED 398).
Meeting topic: "Just getting started-lessons from a female early-career woman's health researcher".

October 11, 1-2 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with special guest Naomi Bender, PhD, Washington State University's Native American Health Sciences Director. Dr. Bender has a background and a wealth of experience in pathways to bringing more Native Americans into the health sciences. She has also worked in this arena at UND's successful Indians Into Medicine program.
Meeting topic: "Thoughtful strategies for increasing inclusion in health and science fields".

October 26, 3-4 pm
Webinar's synopsis: “Across industries, jobs, and levels of seniority — women carry a heavier load of tasks that support the organization but do not advance careers… In this discussion, we’ll explore why this happens and what you can do to manage your non-promotable task (NPT) workload. The common thinking is that women just need to learn how to say no, and this will solve the problem. But it’s not that simple. We will discuss tried and true strategies that you can use to identify NPTs in your work portfolio and begin the process of bringing your workload into balance, as well as what managers can do to change the distribution of NPTs in the first place.”
Meeting topic: "The no club: Putting a stop to women’s dead-end work", hosted by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

December 7,  Noon-2 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with special guest Dr. Laurie Read, Professor, University at Buffalo, NY.
Meeting Topic: "Strategies for a successful career"

Spring 2023

January 5, 1–2pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with Dr. Amanda Boyd, member of the Métis Nation of Alberta.
Associate Professor, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University.
Co-Director, Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health.
Dr. Boyd co-leads the Dissemination Cores of two NIH-funded research centers that focus on controlling blood pressure and reducing alcohol-related health disparities among American Indian and Alaska Native populations and holds a K01 Career Development Award.
Meeting Topic: "Strategies for a successful career". 

January 18, Noon-1pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with Dr. Kyoko Yoshida, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering on the Twin Cities Campus. Learn more about Dr. Yoshida's research on her web profile.
Meeting Topic: TBD

March 1, Noon–1pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with AHC Seminars' guest-speaker Laura Schulz, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Tulane University
Meeting Topic: "Strategies for a successful career"

May 17, 2-3pm
Women's Mentoring Reception for AHC Seminars' guest-speaker Dr. Melissa Walls
Location: SMED 68 (Please note that the location may change.)
Meeting Topic: "Pursuing major opportunities - how to set yourself up for success"

Dr. Melissa Walls is a former member of the faculty of the Department of Biobehavioral Health and Family Medicine. She is now Director of the Center for Indigenous Health’s Great Lakes Hub and an Associate Professor of American Health in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University. She is the most recent recipient of a prestigious Johns Hopkins University President's Frontier Award.

June 6, 1-2 pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch with guest Rita Henderson, MA, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Meeting Topic: "Career strategies for success in all areas of academic medicine"

April 27, 2022, 12pm - 1pm
Women's Mentoring Lunch
Room: 398 SMED
Meeting topic: "Feedback is a Gift" - Feedback in the academic environment: what is useful, what is not, how to respond, and how to deliver feedback. Informal discussion and debate format. Plus, just some time to catch up.

July 28, 2021, 11am - 12:30pm
Light lunch available immediately
Mild weather location: SMED/LifeSci Greenhouse Courtyard

Rain/wind/sleet/snow location: SMED (Medical School) First Floor Atrium
Please join us in celebration of and gratitude for:
1. Jean Regal's role in co-founding the group and leading it from its founding until our transition of leadership in 2021.
2. Our four faculty promoted in the last two cycles - AKA our Pandemic Promotions:
Laura Palombi - College of Pharmacy - Promoted to Associate Professor 2020
Olihe Okoro - College of Pharmacy - Promoted to Associate Professor 2021
Jen Pearson - Medical School - Promoted to Associate Professor 2021
Sarah Schweiss - College of Pharmacy - Promoted to Associate Professor 2021
Short remarks at 11:30. Much of the rest of the gathering will be devoted to getting acquainted/reacquainted with your fellow Medical School & College of Pharmacy colleagues. Drop-in when you are able. We've missed each other! 
 

Fall 2021

October 20, 2021, 12pm - 12:45pm
Heather Bradshaw, PhD, web biography
Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences 
Program in Neuroscience  
Director, Science Technology and Research Scholars (STARS) 
Indiana University 

October 27, 2021, 12pm - 1pm
Sabrina Scroggins, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Reproductive Science Research
University of Iowa
Meeting topic: U of MN Med Duluth Campus support for faculty and investigators identifying as female. Our past, present, and ideal future.
Dr. Scroggins is a K Award holder who, as a Native American scientist, is exploring future "homes" for herself and her research program. 

*Please note that personal website links for seminar speakers are accurate up to the date of the corresponding seminar. If a website link is no longer active, you may need to perform an internet search to locate a researcher's current website.

Unless otherwise noted, all events took place on Wednesdays from noon-1:00 pm in Room 165 Medical School Duluth. 

*Please note that personal website links for seminar speakers are accurate up to the date of the corresponding seminar. If a website link is no longer active, you may need to perform an internet search to locate a researcher's current website.

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place from noon-1:00 pm in Room 165 Medical School Duluth.

*Please note that personal website links for seminar speakers are accurate up to the date of the corresponding seminar. If a website link is no longer active, you may need to perform an internet search to locate a researcher's current website.

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place from noon-1:00 pm in Room 165 Medical School Duluth.

Seminars and Programs

• Helen Moore, Ph.D., Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, "ADVANCing Women in the Sciences: Interrogating the Gendered Academy"
• Discussion Topic-Priorities:How to decide what to do, and when; summary of article by J Regal and discussion
• Jenn Sheridan, Ph.D., "More Women in Science: The Institutional Challenge"
• Dr. Janet Bickel:"You are the CEO of your own career"
• Dr. Elizabeth Lord, Vice Provost, University of California Riverside, and Dr. Ruth Shaw, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. Closing the Gap: Gender Issues in Academic Science, University of Minnesota Duluth. Co-sponsored with the Commission on Women and the Department of Biology
• Dr. Barbara Baird, Cornell University, "Promoting women scientists in science, engineering and the health sciences"
• Dr. Alice Larson and Dr. Caroline Hayes, University of Minnesota, "Discussion of the Women's Faculty Cabinet on the Twin Cities campus"
• Discussion topic: Presentation by Jean Regal of the new NIH Biosketch format required June 2015 and discussion of strategies for effective presentation of accomplishments
• Dr. Jennifer Schultz, Associate Professor of Economics, UMD, Research in health economics and policy, Candidate for Minnesota House of Representatives District 7A, "Discussion of our needs and the vision for Medical School Duluth and College of Pharmacy Duluth"

Strategies for a Successful Career:  Discussions with visiting scientists

• Dr. Anne Kenworthy, Vanderbilt University
• Dr. Robin Wright, University of Minnesota
• Dr. Edie Goldsmith, University of South Carolina School of Medicine
• Dr. Anja Bielinsky, University of Minnesota
• Dr. Besty Seaquist, University of Minnesota
• Dr. Camara Jones, Morehouse School of Medicine
• Dr. Monika Fleshner, University of Colorado