👀the “anti-mentor”

I was asked by a journal to write a piece on mentoring from the women in academia lens

After my first few years as faculty, I spent my career w/o a mentor. It was tough but it did shape my views on how one might mentor women to achieve their goals 1/ In systemically thinking about where I have been correct or wrong in that approach— I realized something

It’s not just that I didn’t have mentors that was difficult….

It was that, similar to too many women in academia, I had ☹️anti-mentors. 2/

Lots of discussion about lack of advancement in women's health

Here is the thing. We will NOT advance reproductive/pregnancy/women's health science by continuing to do clinical trials that are NOT based on fundamental mechanisms that drive health & disease

hang on...🧵🧵🧵
1/ Let me explain:

Millions (millions)💲 have been spent to perform clinical trials to decrease adverse pregnancy outcomes such as #preeclampsia

Trials on Vitamin C, E, magnesium, aspirin, calcium

Perhaps, you might be thinking--those are pretty generic interventions 👀

2/

How the "I am pro-choice but" is about so much more

This 'argument' stems from the same misogynistic narrative that leads to

"but she was wearing a really short skirt" explaining why she was sexually assaulted

"but she is difficult" excusing why she was harassed at work 1/ It is a narrative (belief) that women are less. It is the narrative that they are of less value than men, that they are underserving of bodily autonomy.

This narrative, this belief is what drives, in the year 2022, rising rates of maternal mortality 2/

On 6/24/2022, when #Roe was overturned, I wrote a letter to those that I do research with. I have been asked to share that broadly. I know others in academia are afraid (for legitimate reasons) to share their voice. I am not unafraid but I have committed to not being silent 1/ the letter:
Friends and colleagues-
I have or am currently working with everyone on this email in various and important ways to advance reproductive & maternal health. In this pursuit & in my role as colleague, mentor, advisor, grant editor, etc, I feel beholden to send this 2/

In the debate of academia or nah. Let me offer this. If you want to support & foster physician-scientists & by doing that advance science & health

Here is a short list of things NOT TO SAY & things TO DO🧵

Do NOT say this
1) The department loses $ on YOU
2) your K cost us $ 3) why can’t you cover, you are just on research time?
4) protected doesn’t mean you ALWAYS get that time
5) you submitted grants but they didn’t get funded
6) you should find a mentoring team
7) call doesn’t count in your effort
8) BUT, clinical folks are working so much harder

Let's talk about grants &mentoring 🧵

➡️What it is and what it isn't
➡️How mentors could do better
➡️What mentees should know
➡️How the system can do better What is it: Active participation, communication, push-pull discussion about science months (!) prior to grant submission

What it isn't: 5-10% effort for you submitting a CV with a research record

#MFMmonday: THEREAPEUTICS in OBSTETRICS
Imperative reads: review & clinical opinion in July issue of @AJOG_thegray focused on developing drugs for pregnancy use. When reading, consider COVID vax & pregnant population

A mini tweetorial The reviews introduce the history and the problem

from limitations in scientific discovery, to uninterested industry to regulatory constraints

These are not questionable obstacles; the issue is what have we done to change the narrative & importance

If I may, a thread🧵

I am not leaving academia. Not yet.

I posted this after a long, tearful discussion with a dear friend.
She is a dedicated doc and an amazing scientist. She played within the system- for years.

She climbed the ladder- successfully. 1/

https://twitter.com/docelovitz/status/1407436276517703689

While in different fields, we have grown up together in academia.

For years, we discussed not being enough, needing to do more, how to be more successful.

We were exhausted.

We felt like bad moms, bad docs, bad researchers.

We always put the blame on us.

2/

#20yearlessons
Coming up on 20 years, some thoughts to those MDs looking to be physician-scientist

With MD training only, I was so naïve on how to run a lab🤦🏼‍♀️. I didn't know how to make sure my clinical time was protected. I didn't know a lot.

thoughts....
1/ 1⃣ GATHER information from other PIs, at the place you or at & if going some where new.

ASK: about graduate groups, basic science departments, sign up for various scientific groups (u will be surprised where your research might take u)

ASK: HOW do you run their lab. DETAILS
2/

So, the problem isn’t just the amount of work. It is how we now perceive the work. Academia is filled with do more. Many of us thrive on that. And despite all the restrictions & fears of a pandemic, we kept saying we could do more. This worked for a while. But now... Every paper to review, every grant to write, every request for time seems too much.

We put off emails that need more than 3 seconds of our time. We do work that can be quickly checked off. But, we are unable to dive deeper-despite that is what brought us here in the first place