Women Leaders Rewriting the Protocols of Rare Disease Care
November 20, 2025 | Women in Leadership, Women in healthcare, podcast, rare disease
The true measure of a medical leader is the courage to act when existing systems fail the patient. This is the professional and personal ethos of clinical immunologist Dr. Hilary Longhurst and clinical scientist Mrinal Shah. These women are not only advancing the science of gene editing for rare diseases like Hereditary Angioedema (HAE), but are defining a new standard for female leadership in a high-stakes field.
Listen to the full episode here.
Overcoming Challenges in Female Leadership
Dr. Longhurst spoke about navigating medicine as a woman, recalling moments when her voice was challenged and she felt underestimated. She learned a profound lesson from experience: her greatest professional fears were often “sins of omission”—the failure to act out of caution.
- This self-correction fueled her conviction: “The worst thing that could happen is to become one of those people who doesn’t do what’s right.”
- This philosophy led her to take an unconventional path for an HAE patient whose life was transformed from decades of unemployment to a thriving career.
Listen to the full episode here.
The Power of Patient Advocacy and Transformation
This patient’s story demonstrates that an individual’s brave decision can drive systemic change in rare disease care. For Dr. Longhurst, success means stepping outside rigid guidelines and being brave enough to “represent your patient.”
Responsible Innovation and Protecting Curiosity
For Mrinal Shah, Director of Clinical Development at Intellia Therapeutics, responsible innovation requires protecting creativity and curiosity, especially in a large organization. She emphasizes the importance of the patient voice and transparency.
- Mrinal champions a critical skill for the next generation of women scientists: being unafraid to ask fundamental questions.
- She noted that by simply asking, “somebody inevitably will be like, oh, I’m so glad you asked, because I didn’t know what the answer was either.”
- This openness is foundational to her team’s work in advancing novel science, specifically the one-time, curative potential of gene editing for HAE.
Listen to the full episode here.
A Vision for the Future
The impact of their work confirms that breakthroughs are not isolated events. They are a powerful fusion of diverse expertise: courageous clinicians, scientific rigor, and unwavering patient advocacy.
Their collective message to aspiring women leaders in science and medicine is a powerful call to action: “Take your opportunities, and dream, because you can be part of making that thing happen.” Through this blend of passion and pragmatic innovation, these women are fundamentally redefining the future of medicine.
Listen to the full episode here.
Follow us for updates on upcoming podcasts and more insightful conversations.
For more information, please contact Jelena Spyropoulos.
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 CME and CE courses for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professional
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...