Women in Academic Medicine: Leadership and Intersectionality Matter

Vivian W. Pinn, MD, a Pioneer in Women’s Health Research, to Accept Prestigious Award

The Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation will recognize the achievements of Vivian W. Pinn, MD, with the presentation of the Alma Dea Morani, MD Renaissance Woman Award. Past recipients include Margaret Hamburg, MD; Mary-Claire King, PhD; Barbara Barlow, MD, FACS; and Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH.

In addition to accepting the award, Dr. Pinn will discuss progress and challenges for women in leadership positions across biomedical and academic medical careers, including the critical importance of diversity and intersectionality. She will also share some personal experiences from her trailblazing career as an African American woman in medicine and medical research.

In 1991, Dr. Pinn became the first director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The only woman and the only African American in her class at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, she went on to become the first woman of color in the United States to chair an academic pathology department, at Howard University College of Medicine.

Dr. Pinn led NIH efforts to include women and minorities in clinical research. She also focused on sex differences research, from cellular to translational research to the implementation of healthcare. Over the course of a long and fruitful career, she has received more than 300 awards and was the first African American to be named to Modern Healthcare’s Hall of Fame.  

The New York Academy of Medicine is proud to partner with The Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation to present this premier award and dynamic remarks. Join us as we recognize Dr. Pinn’s achievements, as well as the importance of women leaders in medicine.

About the Award
The Alma Dea Morani, MD Renaissance Woman Award recognizes an outstanding contemporary pioneer in the medical sciences. It was named for Alma Dea Morani, MD, the first woman admitted to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons and an advocate for humanism in medicine. Recipients demonstrate professional excellence, a thirst for knowledge, and service beyond their medical practice or scientific endeavors. Learn more about the award.

About the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation
The Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation was founded with the strong belief that understanding our history plays a powerful role in shaping our future. The resolute stand women took to establish their place in these fields propels our vision forward. We serve as stewards to the stories from the past and take pride in sharing them with the women of today. Our mission is to preserve and promote the history of women in medicine and the medical sciences, and we look forward to connecting you to our collective legacy that will empower our future. Learn more at www.wimlf.org.

About Vivian W. Pinn, MD
Founding Director (Retired), Office of Research on Women's Health, National Institutes of Health
Senior Scientist Emerita, National Institutes of Health

Vivian W. Pinn, MD, was the inaugural full-time director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1991 and Associate Director of NIH for Women’s Health Research from 1994 until her retirement in 2011. Under her leadership, this new office led the implementation of NIH research inclusion policies for women and minorities in clinical research, developed the first ever, and several later, national strategic plans for women’s health research and established many new research funding initiatives and career development programs, including interdisciplinary initiatives, in collaboration with NIH Institutes and Centers. During that time, she also established and co-chaired the NIH Committee on Women in Biomedical Careers with the NIH Director.  She has since been named as a Senior Scientist Emerita at the NIH Fogarty International Center. She has presented her perceptions of women’s health and sex/gender research, health disparities, as well as challenges in biomedical careers to national and international audiences and has served as a mentor to hundreds of young women and men of all races. A special tribute by Senator Olympia Snowe on Dr. Pinn’s retirement was published in the Congressional Record in November 2011 commending her contributions during her NIH tenure. At the time of her retirement, The Association of American Medical Colleges awarded her a Special Recognition Award for exceptional leadership over a forty-year career.  

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