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.
About Medscape Education
Medscape Education (medscape.org) is the leading destination for continuous professional development, consisting of more than 30 specialty-focused destinations offering thousands of free accredited CME and CE courses for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals
This content was provided by Medscape Education
Company Details
Latest Content from Medscape Education
Medscape Education Publishes the Results of Multinational, Multispecialty Survey of Physicians on Rare Disease Educational Needs
Medscape Education has published the results of a global survey of its kind, assessing the educational needs of physicians on rare diseases. This survey of 978 clinicians worldwide across 16...
Medscape Showcases Outcomes in Austria for EASL Congress
Medscape recently attended the EASL Congress in Austria, where they successfully showcased the outcomes of their Wilson Disease education program. One of their achievements was presenting a poster on "Online...
Medscape is Bringing Outcomes to the #HomeOfNeurology
Budapest, Hungary is set to become Medscape's next destination as they gear up for the highly anticipated 9th Annual Congress of the European Academy of Neurology. As an integral part...
Medscape Education: ACOG 2023 Publication
Medscape Education is making a difference! We are wrapping CMV Awareness Month with a look at the impact of CMV education on OB/GYN learners. Take a look as Medscape Senior...
It’s the Era of Outcomes at ERA 2023
The Medscape team has bid farewell to the beautiful city of Milano, Italy and our European nephrology colleagues. The team was thrilled to meet up with so many ground-breaking clinicians,...
International NASH Day 2023
Shari Dermer, PhD of Medscape Education, hosted Michael Betel, Founder and President of Fatty Liver Alliance, in an engaging conversation around the importance of NASH awareness, diagnosis, and prognosis. Listen...
Shining a Spotlight on Patient Centricity in Frankfurt for EHA
The Medscape Oncology team has made their way back from Frankfurt, Germany after another successful EHA 2023 conference. While at the event, the team interacted with conference attendees at the...
Skylines and Oncology Headlines in Chicago for ASCO 2023
ASCO 2023 was a huge success for Medscape Oncology with connections made with members and conference attendees during the event at the Medscape Oncology booth on the exhibit floor and...
Medscape Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology Collaborate to Offer Cancer-Specific Training to Multidisciplinary Members of the Oncology Care Team
This week Medscape Oncology announced an exciting collaboration with ASCO® which you read on the Cision PR news wire here or below:The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO®), a leader at...
Elevating Nephrology Outcomes at #ERA23
Medscape is headed back to Milano, Italy for the 2023 European Renal Association conference, #ERA23.This year, the team is elevating the outcomes of recent nephrology education programs to share the story...