Nominees chosen for the 2009 TMC Women’s Health Network Stream Award
Brief Biographic Sketches
Jenny Chang, MD, is medical director for Baylor College of Medicine’s Lester and Sue Smith BreastCenter. Internationally recognized for her work with cancer stem cells, she constantly pushes researchers and caregivers to strive for improved education and better clinical trials for breast cancer patients. Dr. Chang’s research targets breast cancer stem cells to reduce recurrence and to eradicate disease. Her goals are to find out where cancer stem cells are, what drives them, and the agents that will block their growth.
Dorothy Weston Gibbons is CEO and co-founder of the Rose, an organization established 23 years ago with the mission to reduce deaths due to breast cancer through early detection. Last year the Rose provided breast care services for more than 25,000 women from 111 Texas counties. Ms. Gibbons leads a network of providers, funders, and government agencies working collectively to ensure that women in the Greater Houston area have access to mammography and breast cancer treatment services, regardless of their ability to pay.
Loretta Hanser is mammography coordinator for the Harris County Hospital District. She has successfully led a number of initiatives designed to improve the health and wellbeing of women in Harris County, in particular those with limited access to health care services. Ms. Hanser works tirelessly to increase the number of women screened, reduce waiting times, and ensure women, regardless of their ability to pay, are treated with state-of-the art equipment at first-rate facilities.
Nicole Hare, DHSc, the City of Houston’s first Wellness Director, is working to raise health and wellness awareness among approximately 23,000 employees. She is co-chair of the Mayor’s Wellness Council, providing technical assistance and writing grants for community wellness efforts. Dr. Hare spearheaded CAN DO (Children and Neighbors Defeat Obesity), a holistic community-based initiative that aims to prevent and diminish childhood obesity in Houston and surrounding communities.
Judith McFarlane, PhD, a nurse investigator at Texas Woman’s University, has published 145 peerreviewed articles documenting domestic abuse of women and evidence-based interventions for prevent intimate partner violence. In February 2009 her work was cited by U.S. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her opinion statement about gun removal from batterers. Dr. McFarlane’s research on intimate partner violence during pregnancy was recently featured in a Washington Post series and on CNN.
Karen Moise, RN is a nurse and fetal intervention coordinator at Texas Children’s Hospital Fetal Center. For 30 years, Ms. Moise has dedicated her time to helping countless women manage high-risk pregnancies and deliver the healthiest babies possible. She is a prolific educator, writer, and speaker. One of Ms. Moise’s most visible educational achievements this year was a prime-time television feature on ABC World News Tonight with Brian Williams, an in-depth segment about twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and how it can be corrected by early intervention.
Lois Ramondetta, MD, is a gynecologic oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and co-author of The Light Within: The Extraordinary Friendship of a Doctor and Patient Brought Together by Cancer. In her book, which was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of 2008’s five health books worth reading, Dr. Ramondetta recounts the story of her relationship with one extraordinary patient and her struggles to balance professional detachment and a desire to connect with her patients.
Rhoda Seplowitz, MD, is a psychiatrist in private practice with a faculty appointment in the MenningerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. She is secretary of the Houston Association of Women Psychiatrists. A frequent invited speaker, Dr. Seplowitz is working to destigmatize mental illness, especially during pregnancy and postpartum. She is currently working with family practice, OB/GYN, and pediatric physicians and nurses to promote diagnosis and treatment of postpartum depression.
Eva Singletary, MD, is a world-renown breast cancer surgeon at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. During the 1990s, Dr. Singletary led the way in changing the standard treatment of many breast cancers from radical mastectomy to breast conversation combined with radiotherapy. She is internationally known for developing and promoting new and improved treatment options such as the use of ultrasound to evaluate patients, percutaneous biopsy, breast-conservation surgery, andskin-sparing mastectomy combined with immedicate breast reconstruction.
Shirley LaDay Smith, RN, MSN, is Women Veterans Program Manager for the Michael E. DeBakey VAMedical Center. For the past 15 years, Ms. Smith has worked with organizational leadership, interdisciplinary teams, and university affiliates to create a caring environment and improve health care services for women who serve their nation in the military. She has successfully integrated programs to not only expand and improve direct services for women veterans but also to raise VA staff awareness about the health needs of military women.
Laurel Spence, MS, PA-C, is the Women’s Health course director for the School of Allied Health Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. As a physician assistant, she has collaborated with other investigators in the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center to expand provider awareness about HPV. She is a frequent invited speaker on mood disorders in women, having recently completed a health segment on PBS Houston. She has been admitted as a non-physician member of the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Aldona J. Spiegel, MD, is a plastic surgeon and director and founder of the Center for Breast Restoration at the Institute for Reconstructive Surgery at The Methodist in Houston. Her special interest is making women feel whole again after having undergone mastectomy for breast cancer treatment. She has pioneered breast reconstruction procedures using excess tissue from buttocks or abdomen to rebuild breasts while sparing underlying muscle tissue. Dr. Spiegel has also conducted research in flap perfusion and a clinical trial in breast reconstruction outcomes and has done extensive work in re-innervation of breast flaps.
More information about the Stream Award