UP FRONT
my work at the CIBMTR, I’ve had the
opportunity to go to some fantastic places.
Every place is unique, but if you said,
“Tomorrow, you can do anything you want
to do,” I think I’d walk around Paris.
Traveling for work lets me meet new
people in the transplant community, as
well. Transplanters are a relatively small,
international community. It is a wonderful
thing to be able to meet and work with
people from all over the world.
What is one thing that most people
don’t know about you?
Public speaking is one of my biggest
fears. It’s the only thing that nearly drove
me out of academic medicine. When
I first started, I was petrified of public
speaking. If I had to present an abstract
or give a talk, I would practice and study
for a week before I actually had to speak
so I was completely over-prepared. It
took me years to get over it. I still get a
little nervous before a talk, but nothing
like when I was younger. I wasn’t ever
terrible at public speaking, but I was
convinced that it was going to be awful
every time I took the podium.
What was the strangest interview
you’ve been on?
The first person I interviewed with before
medical school spent the entire time
telling me why women did not belong
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in medical school, including that they
would be taking a job away from man. As
we finished the interview he said, “Well, I
won’t hold it against you.” I was nervous
and scared, but anyone who knows me
knows that I couldn’t let it go, so I said in
a very meek voice, “Well, that would be
illegal, wouldn’t it?”
My next interview was with the nicest
man in the world, who ended up as my
attending when I was pregnant with our
second child, during my internship.
But on our first interview, he did
ask me what my husband thought
about me going to medical school
and if I – who was eight weeks
pregnant at the time – intended
to have a family. He didn’t ask me
when, so I just said, “Yes, I intend
to have a family.”
What advice do you give to
mentees or trainees?
There are two things I think all
trainees should know: Learn to
write and ask for help. Writing
is so important in academic
medicine, yet, when we complete
our fellowship training, while
everyone knows how to take care
of patients, few know how to
write well. I tell young trainees:
“Make yourself write something
every day, until it becomes second
nature.” You could have the best
idea in the world, but you have to
be able to present your ideas so
that other people can understand
and appreciate their importance. A
well-written grant proposal could
mean the difference between your
great idea being funded or just
remaining a great idea.
I also see that young people
don’t ask for help because they are
afraid of criticism – criticism of
their ideas, their approach, their
writing. They spend so much time
trying to get everything perfect
before they run things by their
friends and mentors, that they lose
valuable time. All I can say is “Get
over it!” Better to get criticism
early from friendly advisors
than from grant or manuscript
reviewers!
At this stage in my career,
I enjoy mentoring and helping
young faculty. The people I work
with have talent and drive and
persistence, and it’s amazing to see
what they can do with a little push
and guidance. The best part of
my job is seeing one of my faculty
members achieve something
they’ve worked so hard for. I just
had a young faculty member
receive his first R01 grant, and I
was so happy I thought my face
was going to split from smiling so
much. ●
ASH Clinical News
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