Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Leaders in STEM

WASHINGTON, DC — March 30, 2023 — A new book published by the American Association for Physician Leadership, Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Leaders in STEM, addresses the lack of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through the first-person accounts of notable women who have excelled in a range of STEM-related leadership roles.

“In the past 50 years, women in the United States have made great strides in terms of education, representing the majority of college graduates and master’s level programs today. In 2020, for the 12th straight year women earned the majority of doctoral (PhD) degrees,” says the book’s editor, Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA.

“However, men vastly outnumber women majoring in the STEM fields. While women make up 48% of the workforce, women hold only about 29% of positions in STEM specialties. The book’s contributors — who bucked this trend — share their personal and compelling stories, including obstacles and challenges faced in balancing work, family, and personal life.”

“Role models matter,” says Sheryl Sandberg, founder of LeanIn.org and former COO of Meta (Facebook). “In Lessons Learned, Deborah Shlian introduces us to more than 30 extraordinary women who've pushed past gender bias to expand perceptions of what it means to lead in STEM. This book will inspire so many other women and girls to reach for their goals.”

“The AAPL is proud to provide this platform and hopefully advance the cause of young women pursuing STEM careers,” Peter Angood, MD, president and CEO of AAPL, says. “The lessons learned and the achievements of the book’s contributors are astounding, and should provide a roadmap for those who follow their lead.”

The book’s contributors represent a who’s who of women in STEM:

• Evangelyn C. Alocilja, PhD Professor, Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University Founder, Global Alliance for Rapid Diagnostics Member, National Academy of Inventors

• Cecilia Aragon, PhD Professor of Human-Centered Data Science, University of Washington CeciliaAragonAuthor.com

• Gilda A. Barabino, PhD President and Professor of Biomedical & Chemical Engineering, Olin College of Engineering

• Lisa D. Chong, PhD Editor, Science Journals

• Daphney R. Chery, PhD STEM Advocate, Speaker, Innovation Lead at Northrop Grumman

• Rita R. Colwell, PhD, DSc Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland College Park and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• The Honorable France A. Cordova, PhD President, Science Philanthropy Alliance 14th Director, National Science Foundation External Faculty, Santa Fe Institute

• Catie Cuan PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering Stanford University Roboticist, artist, choreographer

• Margaret Dayhoff-Brannigan, PhD Regulatory Project Manager and Primary Reviewer Office of Vaccines Research & Review Food & Drug Administration

• Claire M. Fraser, PhD Dean E. Albert Reese Endowed Professor, Department of Medicine Director, Institute for Genome Sciences University of Maryland School of Medicine

• Olivia L. George, PhD Associate Professor, Biology University of Hawaii-West O’ahu Mathematics, Natural & Health Sciences Division

• Korie Grayson, PhD Chemist, Biomedical Engineer, STEM Diversity Advocate AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow www.koriegrayson.com

• Malika Grayson, PhD Speaker and Founder, STEMinist Empowered LLC Program Manager, Northrop Grumman www.malikagrayson.com

• Judith Greenberg, PhD Former Deputy Director, National Institute of General Medical Sciences National Institutes of Health

• Ronna Hertzano, MD, PhD Senior Investigator and Chief of Neurotology Branch National Institutes for Deafness and other Communications Disorders National Institutes of Health Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Affiliate member, Institute for Genome Sciences University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore

• Aishwarya Iyer MD/PhD Student (PhD candidate in Biochemistry) Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) University of Maryland School of Medicine

• Maria Klawe, PhD President, Harvey Mudd College Incoming President, Math for America

• Kristin E. Lauter, PhD Director of Research Science North American Labs for Meta AI Research

• Cathleen (Cat) Lutz, PhD, MBA Vice President, Rare Disease Transitional Center at The Jackson Laboratory

• Marcia McNutt, PhD President, National Academy of Sciences

• Estelle Russek-Cohen, PhD Former Director, Division of Biostatistics Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research Food & Drug Administration

• Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA Former CEO, Shlian & Associates, Inc. (executive/physician search and medical management consulting) Author of fiction (shlianbooks.com) and nonfiction

• Ida Sim, MD, PhD Professor of Medicine & Computational Precision Health University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

• Barbara Simons, PhD Retired, IBM Research Former President, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Board Chair, Verified Voting

• Tatiana Toro, PhD Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Washington Director, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MRSI) Simons Lauter Mathematical Sciences Institute (SLMath)

• Lydia Villa-Komaroff, PhD Founder & President, Intersections Consulting: Science, Business, Diversity

• Valda Vinson, PhD Executive Editor, Science Journals

• Maggie Werner-Washburne, PhD Regents Professor Emerita, University of New Mexico Founder, STEM Boomerang www.stemboomerang.org career portal: www.boomerang-nm.com

• Telle Whitney, PhD Consultant and Speaker Co-Founder, Grace Hopper Celebration Former CEO, Anita Borg Institute www.TelleWhitney.com 

• Amie Wilkinson, PhD Professor of Mathematics, University of Chicago

• Rachel Willand-Charnley, PhD Assistant Professor, South Dakota State University Department Chemistry & Biochemistry

• Jiwon Yang, PhD, MBA Principal Scientist, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX)

About Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA, is a board-certified family practitioner with more than three decades of clinical and management experience. Dr. Shlian has been able to balance work life with writing, producing several nonfiction articles, chapters, and books on medical management issues. She also writes fiction. All her works of fiction have won literary awards, including the Florida Book Award's Gold Medal.

About the American Association for Physician Leadership The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) is focused on the personal transformation of all physicians, and through them the organizations they serve. With the goal of improving patient outcomes, workforce wellness, and a refinement of all healthcare delivery, AAPL has remained the only association solely focused on providing professional development, leadership education, and management training exclusively for physicians. Since its founding in 1975, AAPL has educated 250,000+ physicians across 40 countries—including CEOs, chief medical officers and physicians at all levels of healthcare. www.physicianleaders.org