Women represent nearly three-quarters of the global healthcare workforce. Moreover, more than half of all current medical school and other health science degree graduates are women.  Nonetheless, the number and percentages of women in leadership roles in academic medicine remain extremely low. Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) and the University of Michigan are working together to address the gender imbalance in academic healthcare leadership. With grant funding from CMB, they recently launched a joint project on “Preparing and Advancing Women for Leadership in the Health Sciences.” Through focused mentorship, executive coaching, skill-building workshops, and a one-year professional development program at the University of Michigan, this three-year project will prepare nine women faculty members from PKUHSC with the competencies needed to assume leadership positions within PKUHSC.  These faculty members, in turn, will translate the knowledge, skills, and activities learned at the University of Michigan into local programming at PKUHSC for the benefit of future leaders. 

Dr. Joseph Kolars, Professor of Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Education and Global Initiatives at the University of Michigan, who serves as co-chair of the program’s advisory committee, recently met in China with his colleagues at PKUHSC and the nine faculty members who were selected for the program. He described them as diverse in their disciplinary specialties but united in their motivation to create momentum for women’s leadership in the health sciences.  

Dr. QIAO Jie, who also co-chairs the project, is the Executive Vice President of Peking University and President of Peking University Health Science Center. She shared her perspective on the project: “The important role that women play in addressing increasingly complex health issues and the needs for strengthening women leadership cannot be overstated. We greatly appreciate CMB’s support on this program, which has significant and far-reaching implications. This program will not only be the cradle of future women leaders at PKUHSC, but also serve as an important model and catalyst for strengthening women leadership in academic medicine in China and beyond.” 

Six fellows have been selected to date: 

Lian CHEN, MD
Associate Chief Physician
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Peking University Third Hospital 

He HUANG, MD
Attending Doctor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Peking University First Hospital 

Rongxin XIAO, MD
Attending Surgeon
Department of Thoracic Surgery
Peking University People’s Hospital 

Jinmin LIAO, MD
Attending Physician
Department of Psychiatry
Peking University Sixth Hospital 

Mohetaboer MOMIN, MD
Attending Physician
Department of Cardiology
Peking University First Hospital 

Yinyin QU, MD
Associate Chief Physician
Department of Anesthesiology
Peking University Third Hospital 

The selection of three additional fellows will be finalized at a later date. The first three fellows will begin their professional development program at the University of Michigan later this year.