Headshots of 13 Mothers Leading Science participants

Mothers Leading Science program welcomes the 2025 cohort

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute welcomes the sixth cohort of research-intensive faculty into the Mothers Leading Science program, a competitive one-year leadership development program for faculty in the health sciences who identify as mothers of school-age and/or younger children.

The purpose of this program is to foster professional and personal growth; provide peer mentoring; integrate the roles of scientist, woman, and mother; develop future institutional leaders; and build a network of peers for ongoing career-long support.

Since 2017, over 50 women have participated in the program, gaining skills to effectively lead teams and transform the academic health sciences.

New Mothers Leading Science participants

Megan Bensignor, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology
Department of Pediatrics
UMN Medical School

Elizabeth Boyer, PhD
Clinical Scientist, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Department of Orthopedic Surgery
UMN Medical School

Geetha Saarunya Clarke, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery
UMN Medical School

Christen Ebens, MD, MPH
Associate Professor 
Department of Pediatrics
UMN Medical School

Brittany Hartwell, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
UMN College of Science and Engineering

Rebekah Hudock, PhD
Assistant Professor 
Department of Pediatrics
UMN Medical School

Sara Koehler-McNicholas, PhD
Research Health Scientist, Research Service, Minneapolis VA
Assistant Professor
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine 
UMN Medical School

Hannah MacDougall, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor
School of Social Work
UMN College of Education and Human Development

Noelle Noyes, DVM, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Veterinary Population Medicine
UMN College of Veterinary Medicine

Kerry Sheets, MD
Geriatrician, Hennepin Healthcare
Assistant Professor of Medicine
UMN Medical School

Caitlin Ward, PhD
Assistant Professor
Division of Biostatistics & Health Data Science
School of Public Health

Alexa Weingarden, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Medicine, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
UMN Medical School

April Wilhelm, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
UMN Medical School