Mothers Leading Science Program

Mothers Leading Science (MLS) is a year-long career development program for research-intensive faculty in the health sciences who are raising school-age and/or young children.
It is a program designed to address the lack of representation of women in senior leadership, the high rates of attrition of female scientists and the challenges of women in academic health sciences research at the intersections of career, gender, and motherhood.
What you'll get
Dedicated programming and facilitation
Peer support and connection
Networking
Resilience and leadership training
Annual retreats
The purpose of this group is to foster professional and personal growth as leaders, provide peer mentoring, integrate the roles of scientist, woman, and mother, and build a network of peers for ongoing support throughout their careers.
Recognizing the role of parenthood and family care for many researchers, MLS will offer an annual Tips and Strategies seminar open to the University through the CTSI Career Development Seminar Series.
Program dates
September 1, 2022 | Application deadline |
January 2023 | Two-hour kickoff meeting |
February–June 2023 | Two meetings monthly, 60 min each |
June or July 2023 | Two-day Retreat: Brené Brown Dare to Lead™ (DTL) |
July–December 2023 | One meeting monthly, 90 min |
Annual | Annual retreat with networking with other MLS cohorts and breakouts for each cohort to reconnect and renew |
Evaluation and self-assessment throughout
Sommer Amundsen-Huffmaster, PhD
Assistant professor
UMN Department of Neurology
Mimi Choy-Brown, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor
UMN School of Social Work
Anne Frosch, MD, MPH
Infectious Diseases
Investigator, Hennepin Healthcare
Sandra Japuntich, PhD, LP
Psychiatry
Investigator, Hennepin Healthcare
Jiwoo Lee, PhD, RN
Assistant professor
UMN School of Nursing
Sahar Lotfi-Emran, MD, PhD
Assistant professor
UMN Department of Medicine
Zohar Sachs, MD, PhD
Assistant professor
UMN Department of Medicine
Sabrina Scroggins, PhD
Assistant professor
UMN Department of Biomedical Sciences, Duluth Campus
Lindsey Sloan, MD, PhD
Assistant professor
UMN Department of Radiation Oncology
Anna Tischler, PhD
Associate professor
UMN Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Emilyn Alejandro, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology
Alicia Allen, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
College of Medicine
University of Arizona
Anne Bantle, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Joan Beckman, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Antonella Borgatti, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), DECVIM-CA
Associate Professor
College of Veterinary Medicine
Kristina Burrack, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Investigator, Division of Infectious Diseases at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI)
Monica Campo Patino, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Ilana Chefetz Menaker, PhD
Assistant Professor
The Hormel Institute
Colleen Correll, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Katherine Diaz Vickery, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare
Melissa Horning Dehmer, PhD, RN, PHN
Associate Professor
School of Nursing
Ellen Ingolfsland, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Forum Kamdar, MD, FACC
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Katie Loth, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
Susan Novotny, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
Julie Ostrander, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Megan Paulsen, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Rene Pierpont, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Radha Rajasingham, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Tonya Rich, PhD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor
Research Service Line, Minneapolis VA Health Care System; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Minnesota
Elizabeth Rogers, MD, MAS
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Sonya Wang, MD
Associate Professor
Department of Neurology
Anna Zilverstand, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences