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Women's group honors Brady for leadership Kathleen T. Brady, M.D., Ph.D., was one of 45 senior women faculty from medical and dental schools in the U.S. and Canada to be selected as 2004-2005 Fellows by the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women.  Brady is professor of psychiatry and director of MUSC's Clinical Neuroscience Division. ELAM is the only in-depth national program that prepares senior women faculty for leadership positions at academic health centers (AHCs).  The 2004-2005 Class consists of women from 39 medical and dental schools, including six institutions sponsoring fellows for the first time.  “We welcome our tenth class of fellows and look forward to being part of their learning and growth during the coming year,” said Page S. Morahan, Ph.D., ELAM co-director and a founder of the program. “The ELAM Fellowship experience is like no other, providing time and opportunity for personal reflection and insight, application of new concepts and perspectives, and entry into an expanding network of women leaders eager to support each other's advancement.“ The ELAM curriculum combines traditional MBA training oriented towards issues and strategies pertinent to academic health management, with personal and professional development focused on leadership, career advancement, communication, and the use of new information/learning technologies.  Program highlights include opportunities to meet with nationally recognized leaders in academic medicine, health care, government, and industry and to interact with peers from different disciplines and institutions. Between the program’s three intensive on-site sessions, fellows complete a variety of independent assignments, including interviews with senior executives to understand the operation and challenges of their institution from other perspectives, and the design and implementation of an action project that addresses an institutional need or goal.  ELAM’s mission is to increase the number of women  in leadership positions at AHCs as well as their success rate in attaining and remaining in these positions.  Currently in the U.S., only 11 of the 126  allopathic medical schools, five of the 20 osteopathic medical schools, and nine of the 56 dental schools are headed by women deans (including interim positions). Of these, seven (28 percent) are ELAM alumnae.  “ELAM intervenes at a critical stage in a woman’s professional career and provides her with the skills, information, and peer networks that will help her advance to the top,” explains Morahan.  “Once there, ELAM graduates have proven their ability to manage the challenges of leadership, helping their institutions navigate the curricular, organizational and policy changes needed to improve medical and dental education, research, practitioner training, and ultimately the delivery of health services to the public.” For more on the program curriculum, faculty, participants, and other information, visit the ELAM Web site at http://www.drexel.edu/elam.     Friday, June 11, 2004 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.