LEAD Conference Awards 2019 Woman Oncologist of the Year and Rising Star

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --  More than 100 women from across the country came together for the first-ever Leadership Empowerment and Development: Enriching Experiences for Women in Hematology and Oncology (LEAD) Conference, hosted by Bio Ascend.

The conference, held October 4-5, focused on addressing challenges women face in the hematology/oncology field, and identifying actionable strategies for women to advance into leadership roles. Attendees were particularly pleased with one-on-one mentoring sessions where they could meet with conference presenters for more in-depth discussions.

At the LEAD Conference, Claire Verschraegen, MD, was named the 2019 Woman Oncologist of the Year. She is currently a professor of medicine and Director of the Division of Medical Oncology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and she holds the prestigious Diane Nye and Michael Rayden Chair in Innovative Cancer Research. Dr. Verschraegen also serves as Associate Director for Translational Research at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her positive impact on the field of cancer medicine stems from her training and experience in clinical care and translational research.

Dr. Verschraegen is committed to advancing women in medicine and actively promotes programs to enhance gender equity and parity in promotion and leadership. Under her leadership, the OSU faculty is thriving and includes more than 60 members, including 18 women. Half of those women have been hired in the two years since Dr. Verschraegen joined as Division Director.

The 2019 Rising Star award recipient was Shikha Jain, MD, FACP. Dr. Jain is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology, Oncology & Cell Therapy at Rush University Medical Center, and Physician Director of Media Relations at the Rush University Cancer Center. Dr. Jain's clinical focus is gastrointestinal oncology with a special interest in neuroendocrine tumors, and her research interests include gender equity, career advancement for women and underrepresented minorities, and the impact of social media on medicine.

Earlier this year, Dr. Jain was selected as a ResearcHERS ambassador for the American Cancer Society and was honored by 500 Women in Medicine. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the "Women in Medicine Summit: An Evolution in Empowerment," a national CME conference focusing on finding and implementing solutions around gender equality. As an academic, she has produced three abstracts on gender equity accepted for oral and poster presentations at the American Cancer Society conference and two articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Next year's LEAD Conference will be held on October 2-3, 2020 in Santa Monica, California.

About Bio Ascend: Bio Ascend is an independent medical education company committed to supporting health care providers in their efforts to translate innovative science into clinical practice.

The Bio Ascend team has deep oncology and hematology expertise with a proven ability to distill complex scientific ideas into their essential components as well as extensive experience in planning, executing, and assessing meaningful education for clinicians.

About University of Nebraska Medical Center: UNMC, a comprehensive cancer center, is currently conducting 125 clinical trials for patients with cancer. UNMC/CCE certifies approximately 800 activities for continuing medical education (CME) credit annually resulting in more than 50,000 interactions per year with healthcare professionals. UNMC CON CNE provides an average of over 750 activities annually, resulting in an average of over 15,000 interactions per year with nurses at all practice levels. About 10 percent of the focus is on oncology.

SOURCE Bio Ascend