The annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Erica Ollmann Saphire, PhD, MBA, by the Lynn Yeakel Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at Drexel University College of Medicine's Health Sciences Building in University City. Saphire presented a lecture, "How to Turn Competitors Into Collaborators," at 4:30 p.m., immediately followed by the award presentation and reception.
Saphire is the is the president, CEO and a professor at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.
She was honored with the 2023 Marion Spencer Fay Award for her transformative, uniquely impactful ongoing research and groundbreaking discoveries in structural virology, as well as her visionary international leadership contributions in immunology and her demonstrated commitment to mentorship.
Learn more about Dr. Saphire
The national Marion Spencer Fay Award, now in its 60th year, is presented annually by the Lynn Yeakel Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership to an outstanding woman physician and/or scientist who has made an exceptionally significant contribution to health care as a practitioner, medical educator, administrator and/or research scientist and who exhibits significant future potential. The award includes a $10,000 honorarium to support the recipient’s work.
The annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Carrie L. Byington, MD, by the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership on Wednesday, October 16, 2019, in the Student Activities Center on the College of Medicine’s Queen Lane campus (2900 W. Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129). Byington presented a lecture, which was followed by the award presentation and a reception.
Dr. Byington currently serves as vice chancellor for health services at the Texas A&M University System, and on October 31, 2019, will become the next vice president of UC Health, comprised of the University of California’s five academic medical centers, a community-based health system and 18 health professional schools. She was honored with the Marion Spencer Fay Award for her leadership in the study of pediatric infectious disease, her expertise and contributions in patient care, disease prevention, education and ground-breaking research. In addition to her stellar achievements, Dr. Byington has demonstrated an impressive commitment to mentoring and advancing women and underrepresented populations in the health care field, as well as a humanitarian approach to immigrants and rural communities.
Learn more about Dr. Byington [PDF]
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2018 Marion Spencer Fay Honoree Is Jean Bennett, MD, PhD
The annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Jean Bennett, MD, PhD, by the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, in the Geary Lecture Hall, New College Building (245 N. 15 Street). Bennett presented a lecture titled “Seeing the Light with Retinal Gene Therapy: From Fantasy to Reality.”
Dr. Bennett is the F.M. Kirby Professor of Ophthalmology, professor of cell and developmental biology, and co-director of the Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She was honored for her pioneering translational research in the field of ocular gene therapy, which has broad implications on the understanding and treatment of many human diseases. In addition to her stellar achievements and leadership, she is committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Learn more about Dr. Bennett [PDF]
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2017 Marion Spencer Fay Award Honoree and Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
The annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Melissa Simon, MD, MPH, and a lifetime achievement award was presented to Vivian Pinn, MD, by the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership on Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
2017 Marion Spencer Fay Award winner Melissa Simon, MD, MPH, and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Vivian Pinn, MD, with members of the Award Selection Committee.
The national Marion Spencer Fay Award is given annually to a woman physician or scientist who has made an exceptionally significant contribution to health care as a practitioner, medical educator, administrator or research scientist. The award to Dr. Simon included a $10,000 honorarium. Read the press release for more information [PDF].
About Melissa Simon, MD, MPH
Dr. Simon is an expert in implementation science, women’s health across the lifespan, minority health, community engagement and health equity. Her research impacts local-, state- and national-level thought and policy regarding inclusion and health equity, and is focused on improving vulnerable populations’ health and access to the health care system.
Melissa Simon, MD, MPH, Marion Spencer Fay Award Winner, with IWHL Director Lynn Yeakel
Learn more about Dr. Simon [PDF]
About Vivian Pinn, MD
Dr. Pinn is internationally renowned for transforming the understanding and treatment of women’s health, including sex/gender research and minority and women’s health disparities. She has long been a vocal advocate for women and minorities in biomedical science careers.
Lifetime Achievement Award winner Vivian Pinn, MD, (center) with Woman One Scholars Dominique Jones (left) and Jackie Koomson (right)
Learn more about Dr. Pinn [PDF]
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Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, Named 2016 Marion Spencer Fay Award Honoree
Marion Spencer Fay Award honoree Laurie H. Glimcher, MD and Lynn Yeakel, director of the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership
The annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, incoming president and chief executive officer of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and former dean and professor of medicine of Weill Cornell Medical College on Monday, September 26, 2016, by the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership.
Learn more about Dr. Glimcher [PDF]
The national Marion Spencer Fay Award is given annually to a woman physician or scientist who has made an exceptionally significant contribution to health care as a practitioner, medical educator, administrator or research scientist. The award includes a $10,000 honorarium.
Dr. Glimcher presented her lecture, “Doctor Without Borders,” a discussion of key research contributions from her laboratory paired with key personal events in her career over the last 30 years. The lecture was followed by an award presentation and reception.
The 2016 Marion Spencer Fay Award Committee, from left to right: Janine Barber; Jane Clifford, PhD; Mark Woodland, MD; Ellie Kelepouris, MD; Jane Barth, Michele Kutzler, PhD; Ruth DuBois; D. Walter Cohen, DDS; Laurie Glimcher, MD (2016 Marion Spencer Fay Award honoree); Barbara Schindler, MD; Ellie Cantor, PhD (Chair, Marion Spencer Fay Award Committee); Kenny Simansky, PhD; Natalie Bartle, EdD; Elisabeth Van Bockstaele, PhD; Mary Anne Delaney, MD; Diane Magrane, MD; Lynn Yeakel (Director, Institute for Women's Health and Leadership); Michele Marcolongo, PhD
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Katherine Knight Receives 2015 Marion Spencer Fay Award
The annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Katherine Knight, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and co-founder of the Infectious Disease and Immunology Institute at Loyola University Chicago, on Thursday, November 19, by the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership. During the event Dr. Knight presented her lecture, Harnessing Bacteria to Fight Disease: A Professional Scientific Journey.
Learn more about Dr. Knight [PDF]
The national Marion Spencer Fay Award is given annually to an outstanding woman physician or scientist who has made an exceptionally significant contribution to health care as a practitioner, medical educator, administrator or research scientist and who exhibits significant future potential. The award included a $10,000 honorarium to support Dr. Knight's work.
Members of the Marion Spencer Fay Award Committee with 2015 honoree Katherine Knight, PhD
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2014 Marion Spencer Fay Award Presented to Phyllis A. Dennery, MD
On October 21, 2014, the annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Phyllis A. Dennery, MD, FAAP, chief of the Division of Neonatology and Newborn Services at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, by the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership.
Dr. Dennery presented her lecture, "A Neonatologist's Journey: Shedding Light on Small Wonders," followed by an award presentation and a luncheon in the Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise Center on Drexel's University City Campus.
Learn more about Dr. Dennery [PDF]
The national Marion Spencer Fay Award is given annually to an outstanding woman physician or scientist who has made an exceptionally significant contribution to health care as a practitioner, medical educator, administrator or research scientist and who exhibits significant future potential. The award includes a $10,000 honorarium to support Dr. Dennery's work.
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Nancy C. Andrews, MD, PhD, Received the 2013 Marion Spencer Fay Award on Friday, September 27
The annual Marion Spencer Fay Award was presented to Nancy Andrews, MD, PhD, dean of the Duke University School of Medicine, on September 27, 2013, as part of the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership's 20th anniversary celebration.
Nancy Andrews has been vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of the Duke University School of Medicine since October 2007. She is also a professor of pediatrics and pharmacology & cancer biology.
Dr. Andrews earned her PhD from MIT (in biology) and her MD from Harvard Medical School. Prior to moving to Duke, she spent her entire professional career at Harvard, include serving as director of the Harvard-MIT MD-PhD Program from 1999 to 2003 and dean for basic sciences and graduate studies at Harvard Medical School from 2003 to 2007.
Dr. Andrews was also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for 13 years. She maintains an NIH-funded research laboratory studying mouse models of human diseases. Her laboratory's contributions include:
- Discovery of the iron transporter DMT1
- Establishing the role of the transferrin receptor in vivo
- Elucidation of the pathogenesis of hemochromatosis, anemia of chronic disease and iron-refractory iron deficiency anemia (IRIDA)
The lab has developed more than 30 mouse models, many of which have been used by investigators around the world to study iron homeostasis in vivo.
Dr. Andrews received the E. Mead Johnson Award and the Samuel Rosenthal Prize for her research accomplishments. She was the 2010 recipient of the Vanderbilt Prize for Biomedical Science and the 2011 Award for Mentoring in Basic Sciences from the American Society of Hematology. She served as the 2009 president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and as a founding board member of the Rosalind Franklin Society. Dr. Andrews was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and to membership in both the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was profiled by Newsweek magazine in 2008 as one of ten notable women leaders.
The Marion Spencer Fay award ceremony took place on Friday, September 27, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at the Paul Peck Center and included a lecture from Dr. Andrews and a luncheon.
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2011 Marion Spencer Fay Award Lecture and Reception Honoring Julie Overbaugh, PhD
On October 27, 2011, Julie Overbaugh, PhD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, received the 2011 Marion Spencer Fay Award. Dr. Overbaugh's lecture, co-sponsored by the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University as part of their grand rounds lecture series, was titled "Taking the Leap: A Basic Scientist's Journey into Interdisciplinary, International HIV Research."
Dr. Overbaugh was recognized for her unique contributions in increasing understanding of HIV transmission and pathogenesis, her leadership in the treatment of and prevention strategies for infected women in the developing world, her pioneering research collaborative in Kenya and her noteworthy mentoring activities.
View Overbaugh's lecture (DUCoM login required).
Dr. Overbaugh was featured on Women's Radio and was named a "Fierce Woman in BioTech."
Dr. Julie Overbaugh is pictured with members of the 2011 Marion Spencer Fay Award Committee.
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