Shaping the Future of Hematology and Women’s Health
May 12, 2025 | Hear from her, Women in Leadership, hematology, podcast
Changes in the healthcare world are likely to limit opportunities for young researchers, especially women.Three leaders in hematology — Belinda Avalos, Sarah O’Brien, and Marty Liggett — share the initiatives they’re taking to mentor the next generation of hematologists during these challenging times.
How does curiosity and a love of detective work inspire a career path?
“Growing up I always knew I wanted to do something with children, so pediatrics was a natural fit,” says Sarah O’Brien, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Current President of the Foundation for Women and Girls with Blood Disorders. “In pediatrics we trained for hematology and oncology at the same time, and it struck me that for oncology, our patients had all of these detailed protocols to follow. And for our hematology patients, we were just flying by the seat of our pants. I saw immediately how research could influence practice patterns in classical hematology. Plus, I really like the detective work of hematology. Most of my practice is seeing new patients with bleeding symptoms and figuring out what underlying bleeding disorder they might have.”
Listen to Episode 5 of Season 3 here.
Belinda Avalos, MD, Professor of Medicine, Senior Advisor to the President AtriumHealth Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, and President of ASH, says that she, too, loves solving problems. Avalos knew from an early age that she wanted to become a physician, inspired by her father, a surgeon who came to the U.S. from Mexico in his 30s, and his passion for medicine and commitment to his patients.
“I always thought science was so interesting,” she says. “I did a year of research in biochemistry, and I was hooked.” The beauty of research, she says, is moving from the patient to the lab and then being able to go back to an extremely ill patient with a therapy and tell them there’s a good chance of a cure. “I love what I do and I think it’s really important to provide healthcare to people no matter where they live and no matter what their resources are.”
Listen to Episode 5 of Season 3 here.
For physicians, researchers, and healthcare executives, a detective spyglass is a great tool to have in your back pocket these days.
“Right now is a challenging time for hematology research and patient care,” says Marty Liggett, Executive Director at ASH. There’s a lot of concern about cutbacks to research, and what that’s going to mean. “We’re especially concerned about those who are in early career positions, where any cutbacks in funding could require a career change. It’s a time when ASH as an organization can—and will—step up to be helpful.
One of the ways they’re doing that is to step up the organization’s mentoring initiatives, to find new ways to help people connect with each other “so that a woman, a young hematology female researcher, for example, doesn’t feel like there aren’t mentors there to support her, “ Liggett says.
“We’re also putting together a series of initiatives to promote hematology research through advocacy and education, to protect the pipeline of hematology researchers. In a normal year, we give out $15 million worth of awards, and we are going to increase that in the near term. We’re working hard to make sure that, again, we do all we can to preserve the pipeline for hematologists.”
Hosted by Jelena Spyropoulos, PhD, Director of Clinical Strategy at Medscape.
Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on upcoming podcasts and more insightful conversations. For more information, please contact Jelena Spyropoulos.
Listen to Episode 5 of Season 3 here.
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