At HMS, fellowship helps make ends meet

Among Harvard Medical School’s researchers and clinicians, nothing is in shorter supply than time – and time is money.

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For 69 junior faculty members and clinical and research fellows this year, relief comes from the Eleanor and Miles Shore 50th Anniversary Fellowship Program for Scholars in Medicine. Recipients generally get $25,000 to $30,000 for one year. A few fellowships are for more time and come with more money.

The program was founded in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of women first being admitted to Harvard Medical School (HMS). In the past decade, more than 400 faculty and fellows, both men and women, have gotten the awards, which so far total about $10 million.

“Every year, it’s been growing,” said Sara Kiarsis, faculty development coordinator in the Office for Faculty Affairs at Harvard Medical School and coordinator of the program. Last year, there were 55 fellowships. In the first year, 1996, there were only 10.

The 2006 recipients will be honored today (Oct. 12) at a ceremony in Gordon Hall at the Medical School. A separate room set aside that day, for children, illustrates one reason why these awards are so important. Many of the recipients struggle with the twin demands of science and parenthood.

Scholars in Medicine funds come from 36 private, academic, hospital, and philanthropic sources. Those eligible are generally instructors or assistant professors at HMS who have M.D.s, Ph.D.s, or equivalent advanced degrees.

Over the years, fellowship recipients have used the money to take mini-sabbaticals from clinical work, to write, or to finish up critical research. Traditionally, many young faculty – who are not yet independently funded researchers – use the money to buy research help.

For gratitude, look no further than S. Evelyn Stewart, an instructor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the mother of two daughters under 2. (Emmanuele – “Emmi” – turned 2 on Oct. 9; Gabrielle will be 3 weeks old Oct. 14.)

Or Sonya Sunhi Shin M.D. ’98, M.P.H. ’04, an assistant professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in the Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities. Like Stewart, her daughters’ ages don’t even add up to three years. (Chloe is 2; Ophelia is 9 months.)

“This award will make a huge difference,” said Stewart, 37, who’s using her $30,000, one-year fellowship to hire a half-time research assistant. That will help manage the fracas of grant writing, clinical work, and preparing manuscripts

The Canada-born researcher and clinician is just one year into a privately funded investigation of 15 genes she suspects increase the risk for acquiring obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or Tourette’s syndrome. “To my knowledge, this is the first time someone is trying to look at genes that confer susceptibility to both,” said Stewart, who hopes for federal funding next year. A related project at MGH, on children at risk for OCD, will take a decade to finish, she said.

Shin is using half of her $30,000, one-year award for a U.S. research assistant and half to help support two research staffers in Peru. She spends a quarter of each year in Lima, where she’s developing education and therapy-adherence programs for impoverished women and children battling HIV or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, or both. The Baltimore native – whose mentor and colleague at Brigham is medical anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer – also has ongoing research in Siberian Russia.

Being a young investigator and a parent has replaced once-predictable rhythms of research, teaching, and writing “with a series of contingency plans, cobbled together with no guarantee of them working six months from now,” said Shin, 36. “This fellowship will allow me to breathe for a year, as I work on getting my rhythm back.”

As researchers, clinicians, teachers, and young mothers, both Stewart and Shin need the free time the fellowships will afford them.

Stewart is taking five months off from her clinical practice, where she sees both adult and child OCD patients. But her analytical work for the gene project, and her writing, will go ahead full bore.

“One of the key features of my early mornings is when the babysitter comes to the house,” said Stewart. By 7:30 a.m., she’s free to check voice mail and e-mail and to consult with colleagues at the lab and clinic. Stewart – with Gabrielle along for the ride – will still go to a few outside meetings a week. The rest of her working days will be at the laptop, writing or analyzing data. With all that, and the pressure of looming grant deadlines, said Stewart, “there’s not much time that is sacred.”

She offers a wry image of herself as a Scholars in Medicine fellow: “Breastfeeding at the laptop, with a cell phone in my hand.”

For Shin, life is similarly hectic. Most weekdays, she drops the children at day care at 7 a.m., and gets back home 12 hours later. “I haven’t had a full night’s sleep for a year,” she said.

Arriving at her office recently at One Brigham Circle, near the Medical School, Shin drops her commuter’s burden: a briefcase, a knapsack, and an outsize cardboard box of data from Peru. Then she offered an image of her own busy life, pretending to steer the wheel of a car. “Me, on the road,” she said, with a laugh. Shin’s busy days usually include a commute from the South Shore, which can take up to 90 minutes each way. And the average trip to Peru – these days with Ophelia, who is still nursing – takes 12 hours.

Converging careers in motherhood and medicine are tough on young researchers just getting started, said Shin. “Man and woman alike, the fact that this fellowship is mindful of this is really important. It’s the most important kind of support, on an hourly, on a day-to-day basis.”

Both Stewart and Shin acknowledge other sources of support. Spouses, for one. Stewart’s husband, MGH radiologist and researcher Hugue Ouellette, is aware of the pressures, and remains cheerful. On a recent morning in their sunny Garden Street, Cambridge, apartment, Emmi wiggled on his lap while Stewart fielded a phone call. “Chaos,” he said. With a smile.

Shin’s husband, Andrew Ruddle, is a registered nurse at BWH, where she has a clinical practice in infectious diseases. “The only reason I’ve been able to flounder through this is that he has been entirely supportive,” said Shin.

Nonmonetary support has also come from colleagues who are, or have been, in the same rocking boat – young researchers with children, and with undiminished ambitions. “There are a number of people around me doing the same thing,” said Stewart.

In medical research, it’s hard to make the transition between being a trainee and a full-fledged and funded investigator, she said, and the Scholars in Medicine fellowship helps. “These small bridge-type grants are really needed,” said Stewart. “They’re critical to keep people in the running, to try and fulfill these dreams.”

Below is the list of recipients for this year’s Eleanor and Miles Shore 50th Anniversary Fellowship Program for Scholars in Medicine.

Academy Fellowship in Medical Education: Kevin A. Raskin, instructor in orthopedic surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital; Amy L. Juraszek, assistant professor of pathology, Children’s Hospital Boston

The Alice J. Adler Fellowship of the Schepens Eye Research Institute: Lu Chen, instructor in ophthalmology, Schepens Eye Research Institute

The Loreen Arbus Fellowship in Neuroscience: Lisa V. Goodrich, assistant professor of neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Anesthesia John Hedley-Whyte Research Fellowship: Yunping Li, instructor in anesthesia, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine Fellowship: Carrie D. Tibbles, instructor in medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Ob/Gyn Foundation Academic Support Fellowship: Anastasia H. Koniaris, clinical instructor in obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Fellowship: Sonya S. Shin, assistant professor of medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship: Tjorvy E. Perry, instructor in anesthesia, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Michael Nurok, instructor in anesthesia, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine Fellowship: Christian Arbelaez, instructor in medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Faculty Development Award: Sigal Yawetz, instructor in medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Neurology Fellowship: Anna M. Krichevsky, assistant professor of neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Foundation Fellowship: Serene S. Srouji, instructor in obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Sujatha Rajan, instructor in obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Pathology Fellowship: Frank S. David, instructor in pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Brigham and Women’s Minority Career Development Award: Cheryl R. Clark, instructor in medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Zara Cooper, clinical fellow in surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Cambridge Health Alliance Department of Psychiatry Fellowship in honor of Karlen Lyons-Ruth: Michaela Mendelsohn, instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance

Children’s Hospital Faculty Career Development Fellowship: Kate G. Ackerman, assistant professor of pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston (2nd year); Carmen M. Barnes, Ph.D., instructor in Surgery Children’s Hospital Boston (2nd year); Oscar J. Benavidez Jr., instructor in pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston; Stephen D. Brown, instructor in radiology, Children’s Hospital Boston; Sarah D. De Ferranti, instructor in pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston; Ingeborg Friehs, instructor in surgery, Children’s Hospital Boston; Edda Fiebiger, instructor in pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston; Hanna Gazda, instructor in pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston; Andrew Y. Koh, instructor in pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston; X. Sean Li, assistant professor of surgery, Children’s Hospital Boston; Christine Mrakotsky, instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital Boston; Lise E. Nigrovic, instructor in pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston; Annapurna Poduri, instructor in neurology, Children’s Hospital Boston

Children’s Hospital Pathology Foundation Fellowship: Laurie L. Jackson-Grusby, assistant professor of pathology, Children’s Hospital Boston

Children’s Hospital Postdoctoral Career Development Fellowship: Shannon L. McKinney-Freeman, research fellow in biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology, Children’s Hospital Boston; Xiaojin Liu, research fellow in neurology, Children’s Hospital Boston; Xin Zeng, research fellow in neurology, Children’s Hospital Boston (2nd year)

Children’s Hospital Robert M. Smith Anesthesiology Faculty Development Award: Mary Ellen McCann, assistant professor of anesthesia, Children’s Hospital Boston

Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award: Paola Arlotta, instructor in surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year); Emmanuelle di Tomaso, instructor in radiation oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Maria A. Franceschini, assistant professor of radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Hadine Joffe, assistant professor of psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year); Camille N Kotton, instructor in medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year); Elizabeth B. Lamont, assistant professor of medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; Pamela J. McLean, instructor in neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year); Madhusmita Misra, assistant professor of pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospitalp; Kathryn J. Moore, assistant professor of medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; Marielle Scherrer-Crosbie, assistant professor of medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; Lei Xu, instructor in radiation oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital (2nd year)

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Fellowship: Catherine Wu, assistant professor of medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Robert H. Ebert Fellowship (established by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation): Jeanne M. Madden, instructor in ambulatory care and prevention, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Harvard Medical School Fellowship in honor of Mary B. Clark: Chenghua Gu, assistant professor of neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

Harvard School of Dental Medicine Fellowship in honor of Aina M. Auskaps: Kunikazu Tsuji, instructor in developmental biology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Priscilla and Richard Hunt Fellowship: Christina W. Baker, clinical instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital

Joslin Diabetes Center Fellowship (in memory of Priscilla White): Merav Baz-Hecht, instructor in medicine, Joslin Diabetes Center

Edward and Amalie Kass Fellowship (at the Channing Laboratory): Begonia Ruiz-Perez, instructor in medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Fellowship: Kenneth E. Hancock, instructor in otology and laryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Anesthesia Fellowship: Yumiko Ishizawa, instructor in anesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine Fellowship: Joshua N. Goldstein, instructor in surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital

McLean Hospital Fellowship: Hilary S. Connery, instructor in psychiatry, McLean Hospital

Morgan-Zinsser Academy Fellowship in Medical Education: Michael Woodruff, instructor in Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

The Mount Auburn Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty Development Fellowship: Todd W. Thomsen, instructor in medicine, Mount Auburn Hospital

Curtis Prout Academy Fellowship in Medical Education: Umadevi Naidoo, instructor in psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital; Tracey Milligan, instructor in neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education: Todd Eisenberg, instructor in psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Diane C. Sliwka, instructor in medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Susan Burgin, instructor in dermatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Charles M. Vollmer, instructor in surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Dorothy Rackemann Fellowship (established by the Vincent Memorial Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital): Mary E. Sabatini, instructor in obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology

Dr. Lynne Reid/Drs. Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship: S. Evelyn Stewart, instructor in psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital

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