Women's Health Science Program

Mar 13, 2012 Apply to be a medical student mentor for the 2012 Infectious Disease Summer Academy!!!

The Infectious Disease Summer Academy (IDSA) is one of four academies offered by the Women’s Health Science Program for High School Girls and Beyond (whsp.northwestern.edu). This program is led by educators Cathryn Smeyers, MAT, Nadia Johnson, MA, and three leading women physicians: Patricia Garcia, MD, Sarah Sutton, MD and Melissa Simon, MD. The purpose of IDSA is to prepare and inspire a diverse population of high school girls to be the next generation of women leaders in science and medicine. IDSA will select 18 high school girls from Chicago Public Schools to participate in the program. IDSA will engage the high school girls to learn about the basic science, clinical applications, and career options in the area of infectious disease research, prevention, and health. IDSA is seeking to temporarily hire three medical students to be mentors to the high school students and assist in the preparation and delivery of program curriculum.

Click here to fill out the online application.

Nov 16, 2011 WHSP receives a Presidential Award for excellence in mentoring!!!

The Oncofertility Saturday Academy received a Presidential Award for excellence in mentoring. Click here for the details!

Oct 31, 2011 WHSP is now accepting applications for OSA 2012!

This year, there will be two OSA Application deadlines:

The EARLY DECISION OSA Application deadline is Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Early Decision applicants will be interviewed first!
The regular decision OSA Application deadline is Wednesday, November 23, 2011.

ALL OSA interviews will occur the week after Thanksgiving break.

Please click here for the student application: http://whsp.northwestern.edu/osa/osa-student-application

Please click here for the parent/guardian form: http://whsp.northwestern.edu/osa/2010-osa-parent-form

Please click here for the advisor form: http://whsp.northwestern.edu/osa/2010-osa-advisor-form

May 27, 2011 Check out the OSA program article in the latest issue of Northwestern Magazine!

Academy Opens Students' Eyes to Science

Feb 18, 2011 OSA 2011 Graduates Will Be Inspired By Dr. Andresse St. Rose

Andresse St. Rose, PhD, Senior Researcher, American Association of University WomenThe fifth Oncofertility Saturday Academy graduation is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2011. The Oncofertility Saturday Academy graduation is an event for the high school-university science community to celebrate with the high school students who successfully accomplished the goals of the academy. Students participate in over 80 intensive hours of science learning experiences in the Oncofertility Saturday Academy. Graduation is an opportunity to recognize and praise the high school students’ newly acquired scientific knowledge and processing skills and their strong commitment to the science “sisterhood”. Students accepted into the program call each other “science sisters” because they are part of a network with other young women who are also pursuing academic and career goals in science.

The Oncofertility Saturday Academy graduation is an opportunity for the students’ parents/guardians and other family members, alumnae, high school teachers, university faculty of the program to come together to encourage and support the high school students. To focus, energize, and inspire the high school students and the entire high school-university science community the graduation keynote speaker this year will be Andresse St. Rose, PhD, from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Dr. St. Rose will be travelling from Washington, DC, and will arrive earlier in the day on March 5th to experience the program firsthand by participating in the activities of the Family Oncofertility Saturday Academy.

Dr. St. Rose is a senior researcher at the American Association of University Women (AAUW) where her work focuses on gender equity in education and the workplace, including the science workforce. AAUW is a national organization of over 100,000 individual members and donors, with a mission to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Dr. St. Rose is a co-author of a recent publication, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (2010). This report identifies eight key findings from recent research that explores why women remain underrepresented in certain science disciplines and the science workforce and offers recommendations on how to encourage and retain more women along the science pipeline. “Although girls’ and women’s participation and performance in science has improved significantly over time, barriers to their progress still exist, and programs like the WHSP are incredibly important to encouraging girls to pursue science education and careers."

The Oncofertility Saturday Academy 2011 selected thirty-two female high school students, sixteen 11th graders and sixteen 12th graders, from Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago. The mission of the Oncofertility Saturday Academy and the other WHSP academies is to prepare and empower the next generation of women leaders in science and medicine.

Join us for this exciting event on Saturday, March 5th, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center of Northwestern University in Hughes Auditorium, 303 E. Superior St., in Chicago. Please RSVP your attendance as follows: for OSA students and their families, please RSVP here; for Northwestern partners, please RSVP here. A light supper will be served.

Feb 9, 2011 Featured Career of the Week: Physician Assistant

Physician Assistants (PAs) practice medicine under the supervision of a doctor. PAs are trained to provide a range of medical care to patients, including making diagnoses, providing therapy, and prescribing certain medications. In order to become a PA, you must complete an educational program, typically after earning a college degree, which can take about two to three years to finish (for full-time students). After completing an accredited program, you must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam, which is required to be a licensed PA in all states.

This weekend the JOSA students will be paired with PA students. Please look through the bios for the PA Student Mentors, below:

Emily EmilyNAME: Emily Eiten

EDUCATION: B.S. Kinesiology from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE INTERESTS: Travel! I love doing anything outdoors and trying new restaurants and recipes!

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? Shadow and gain as much experience as you can. You can't know what something is going to be like until you try it.

Allison AllisonNAME: Allison Foate

EDUCATION: BS, Biology and Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

In my free time I enjoy trying new restaurants, traveling, downhill skiing, and spending time with my family and friends

Advice: If you are interested in a health care profession, my best advice would be to get as much experience working with patients as you can. The more experience you have, the better you are able to approach patients and adapt to difficult situations. Interaction is key and will make learning medicine that much more valuable!

Kisha KishaNAME: Kisha Hope

EDUCATION: B.S. Anthropology/Psychology Emory University; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Bikes, knitting, playing music, computers, writing and distributing zines, thrift store shopping, crossword puzzles, and football!

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? You can teach anyone medicine, but you can't teach them personality

MargaretName - Margaret Wilson

Education - BS from the University of Michigan in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Sciences, MMSc in progress from Northwestern University Physician Assistant Program

Hobbies/Interests - cooking, yoga, scrapbooking

Advice - Get as much exposure to the medical field as you can through volunteering and shadowing before you start school to make sure it's what you really want to do. It's a fantastic field, but a lot of work, so make sure it's something you love.

MichelleNAME: Michelle Staron

EDUCATION: Loyola University of Chicago; Biochemistry major/Premed; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Drawing, painting, running, bike-riding, volleyball, softball, and traveling.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE

MEDICAL FIELD? Take every opportunity to learn about health and medicine. Try to get research experience if you plan on going to medical school in the future. Volunteer at as many health clinics/hospitals as possible so you can get an idea if medicine is what you want to pursue; this will also help you start to get an idea on what area of medicine you are interested in.

SamanthaNAME: Samantha Zunich

EDUCATION: UIUC--BS Liberal Arts & Sciences, majored in Molecular & Cellular Biology, class of 2005; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE HOBBIES/INTERESTS: biking, volleyball, exercise, movies, spending quality time w/ family & friends

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? Keep an open mind because the medical field is so vast and there are so many opportunities available. If you work hard and are persistent, you can achieve your goals. Turn your disadvantages into advantages--learn from them and use it to help others overcome their own.

C. ChristineNAME: C. Christine Lee

EDUCATION: B.S. Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science at the University of Michigan; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE HOBBIES/INTERESTS: running, football, lacrosse, shopping, cooking

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? Get involved as much as you can (i.e. volunteer, shadow, work) and make sure this is something you are passionate about!

N Joy JoyAME: Joy Economos

EDUCATION: B.S. in Speech and Hearing Science from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Spending time with family & friends, listening to all types of music, and breaking a sweat by running, playing basketball or soccer when I'm not studying.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? You have to be ready for the difficult da ys, as well as the easier ones. Its a challenging field but as long as you love it, you'll learn so much and it'll be completely worth it.

Ali AliNAME: Ali Amundsen

EDUCATION: BS in Exercise Physiology from the University of Utah; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Rock Climbing, Reading, Skiing, and hanging out with friends and family.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? It is a lot of work and a difficult career but working with patients and helping people is an extremely rewarding experience. If you are willing to put in the effort it is more than worth it!

Mary BethNAME: Mary Beth Holden

EDUCATION: B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University; Northwestern University Physician Assistant Student, Class of 2012

OUTSIDE HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Tennis, music, movies, traveling

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? There are so many different things you can do in the medical field, so try to take advantage of every opportunity to gain experience and figure out what your passion is. Work hard and never lose sight of your goals.

Jan 26, 2011 OSA 2011 Students Selected!

Selection for OSA 2011 is complete! Congratualtions to the following students:

SOSA: Kayla Allen, Keisha Barreto, Amirr Beathea, Angelique Boyd, Jazmin Gonzalez, British Griffis, Takilah Hasan, Charneka Hopkins, Tarin Kennedy, Nyomi Kivenas, Katara Marks, Ashley Murray, Kiara Murray, Denisha Parker & Brenda Ramirez

JOSA: Vivian Carrillo, Devenia Doss, Keyana Gage, Takilia Hasan, C'Erra Hudgens, Jannela Lopez, Mayra Lopez, Chiffon Macon, Emira Mamuti, Amber Millsapp, Jasmine Phillips, Jasmine Puller, Dominique Robinson, Mercedes Sivels, Teanna Thomas, LaTanya Tiller

OSA 2011 officially begins on Thursday Jan. 27th at 7PM with our MANDATORY OSA INFORMATIONAL MEETING for students and parents. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an overview of the program, distribute OSA materials to students and parents, and complete all necessary consent and waiver forms. We are looking forward to meeting you all and getting started!

Jan 4, 2011 All-OSA Faculty Meeting

Preparation for the fifth year of the Oncofertility Saturday Academy is under way. Northwestern University and Young Women's Leadership Charter School are planning, organizing, and sharing their resources to deliver OSA 2011 in February and March. To successfully deliver OSA, it takes over 100 faculty. On December 20, 2010 the program co-founders, Teresa Woodruff, PhD, and Megan Faurot , MEd, and education management, Cathryn Smeyers, MAT, and Nadia Reynolds, MA, led the All-OSA Faculty Meeting. This meeting was held on the Northwestern University Chicago campus and video conferenced to the Evanston campus.

The purpose of this annual meeting is to bring together all the OSA faculty to set the direction for the upcoming year. An overview of the mission and goals of the academy, curriculum, evaluation, and what's new in 2011 are covered in the meeting. View the video recording of the All-OSA faculty meeting. In attendance were scientists, clinicians, science teachers, medical students, physician assistant students, graduate students and undergraduate students. Most of the OSA faculty this year have participated in previous years of the program and we were very excited to welcome some new faculty to the academy.

In the next month, education management will be setting individual meetings with the faculty to focus on and prepare the laboratory stations, clinical simulations, bioethical discussion, and other activities that they facilitate. Each year OSA continues to expand and improve and this is due to the commitment level and contributions of the OSA faculty. OSA faculty share their science knowledge and skills to the students in a highly engaging and authentic way. The OSA faculty are also mentors and role models to the high school students by sharing their own academic and career paths and encouraging them to be the next generation of women leaders in science.

Nov 1, 2010 Emira Mamuti is the WHSP Science Sister of the Week!

Emira Mamuti is the WHSP Science Sister of the Week! Emira participated in this summer’s IDSA and is currently enrolled in our new program, the Physical Science Weekend Academy. Emira is a natural leader in both the WHSP programs and at YWLCS, and she plans to pursue a career as a pediatrician or pediatric surgeon. Her favorite quote is, “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death,”-Albert Einstein. She loves these words because it implies that education does not stop at school. Emira, we could not agree more!

Oct 18, 2010 Oncofertility Article in TIME Magazine

In an article entitled "Saving for a Family," TIME Magazine discusses new techniques in oncofertility, patient stories, and the ethical considerations of this dynamic field. It also includes interview with multiple members of the Oncofertility Consortium, including Dr. Woodruff. The article is available on the TIME magazine website.

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