Committee on Women in Medicine and Science (COWIMS)
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Alyssa Mixon, DO, Susan Pollart, MD, Kate McManus, MD, Dean Melina Kibbe, MD, and Kathryn Xixis, MD
COWIMS Mission
The UVA Committee on Women in Medicine & Science (COWIMS) promotes and enables the representation, development, and contributions of all individuals.
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Who We Are
Dr. Kate McManus, Chair of COWIMS
“I have a longstanding passion and interest in helping to achieve gender equity in medicine and science and in empowering women in these fields. Women in medicine and science who are empowered, encouraged, and valued improves the retention of key talent who are essential to making UVA a Great and Good university. I look forward to the opportunity to enthusiastically contribute my passion and expertise to drive significant progress towards achieving the committee’s strategic goals.” ~Kate McManus, MD
Dr. McManus joined the University of Virginia Health System and School of Medicine (SOM) in 2010, completed her Internal Medicine residency, and served as a chief resident year and Infectious Diseases fellowship at UVA. She joined the Department of Medicine (DOM) faculty as an inaugural iTHRIV Faculty Scholar in July 2017. Dr. McManus has been an active member of the SOM DOM Women in Internal Medicine Network (WIMN) group since its inception in 2015 and has served as a co-chair of the group since 2019. We are grateful for the leadership experience on behalf of women faculty that Dr. McManus brings to this position and know her experience as a faculty member active in all mission areas will greatly benefit our faculty members.
- Kendall Bromley, Co-president coWIMS
- Katie Kraichely, Medical Scientist Training Program; AFFIRM Co-president
- Caroline Riedstra, Co-president coWIMS
Advocacy
Awards
Professional Development
Data Analytics
Programming/Events
Media
COWIMS Resources
May 21, 2024, COWIMS held an AAMC Early Career Women Faculty Leadership Development Seminar: Sharing about the Application Process & Seminar Highlights. Recent UVA faculty attendees of the AAMC Early Career Women Faculty Leadership Development Seminar shared insights about the application process and seminar highlights. This session was intended to be helpful for women who are considering any of the AAMC conferences for women faculty and mentors/sponsors who want to know more about the process and the benefits. Learn more about AAMC here. A recording of the session can be found here.
COWIMS Woman of the Month Series
The COWIMS Woman of the Month feature is a once monthly series designed to highlight a woman in our community.
During July, the Committee on Women in Medicine and Science (COWIMS) is celebrating UV Safety Month and is honored to recognize Ms. Caroline Riedstra, a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Andrew Dudley, whose research focuses on metastatic melanoma post-colonization in the brain. Ms. Riedsrta is the Co-President of WIMS, and is on the steering committee of COWIMS. Her interest is in melanoma cell interaction with the brain micro-vessels and the role of gene signatures/phenotype switching in melanoma invasion. Recently, Ms. Riedstra was a Grad Thesis SLAM winner. She explains her research here. Melanoma Brain Metastases (MBM) continues to be a significant clinical problem with limited treatment options. The Committee on Women in Medicine and Science congratulates Ms. Riedstra for her dedication and the impact of her work in the field of cancer biology. Thank you for advancing the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of melanoma more effectively. Your efforts are truly commendable!
If you would like to nominate a future COWIMS Woman of the Month, click here.