Two female neuro-oncologists strive to develop new therapies for aggressive brain tumors
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At the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, Kelly Braun, MD, and Yoshie Umemura, MD, have a synergistic goal — develop new and effective treatment options for patients with aggressive brain tumors.
“Our main research focus is translational clinical research and we are working closely with scientists within and outside of our institution to bring exciting bench science to the bedside,” Umemura, division chief of neuro-oncology at Barrow Neurological Institute and chief medical officer at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, said during an interview.
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Braun, a clinical neuro-oncologist at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, and Umemura spoke with Healio about what it’s like as two women in leadership positions in a male-dominated field, the importance of diversity across all fields of medicine and advice for other women in oncology interested in following in similar paths.
Healio: What is it like as two women in what has long-been a male-dominated field?
Umemura: In addition to wanting to create a comprehensive clinical practice that integrates a robust clinical trial portfolio, our goal is to shape a division that is a place clinical researchers can thrive and grow in their careers.
As a woman, I feel an additional responsibility to help improve the workplace culture by bringing more awareness to challenges for female physicians, who are often overlooked.
Braun: When I started working at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, it made me unique and stand out to be a woman in this field. It gave me an opportunity to shine.
Healio: Why is it so important to have diversity within the neuro-oncology department, and the medical field in general?
Braun: Diversity is important to bring different ideas to the table — to make things better overall for us and our patients. For example, Dr. Umemura came to us from University of Michigan recently, and because she came from a different institution, she brought different ideas, which are helping our department run more efficiently and, in turn, help our patients.
Umemura: In regard to diversity in gender and race, it is so important to have an inclusive environment for everyone — patients, clinic staff, nurses, advanced practice providers and physicians — to feel comfortable in their own skin. By having diversity, we can address and strive to eliminate existing barriers over time.
Healio: What challenges have you experienced as female leaders in medicine and how have you overcome them?
Braun: I have a 2-year-old son and I didn’t realize to the extent of which it would take so much of my time to be a mom. It’s like having a full-time job on top of your full-time job, but it’s a wonderful full-time job and I love it. How I overcome it is readjusting my schedule to adapt to everything and becoming more efficient at some things and learning how to delegate other tasks.
Umemura: I do not have children, but I have witnessed both men and women experience challenges with child care, especially during medical training. Of course, that challenge is even greater for women who are physically going through the change and, oftentimes, women work right up until labor and come right back to work when they can.
During residency and fellowship, coverage is available, but it has to be arranged on your own. Dr. Braun had a child after her fellowship early on in her career and I can only imagine the additional challenges she faced. I have extra respect for women who can juggle motherhood and being a physician.
In addition, women sometimes have to be more cautious with their word choices in a leadership position when trying to affect a change. No one likes change, and when you are the one to suggest it, you have to be extra mindful how to bring that about so that the assertiveness does not get perceived as abrasiveness. I know many women who have faced that challenge in their career.
One of the important things that I’ve learned to overcome is to understand the challenges and to address them as courteously as possible and as objectively as possible. Finding a mentor early on within the institution is also key so that you’re not doing it alone.
Healio: What advice can you offer other women in the field who may be interested in leadership positions at their institution?
Braun: It is so important to get along with everybody on your team. Develop good relationships with the other people you work with — from office staff to clinical staff — and be careful of any political situations that might arise at your institution, which can present their own problems. As long as you have a good rapport with people, it makes things a lot easier and other people want to help support you to rise up in your leadership position.
Umemura: Find a mentor early on. Your mentors can be men or women and can be from within or outside of your institution. Having a mentor is key in building your leadership style. Understanding and learning the challenges about historical stereotypes that have posed a challenge to women in leadership, but not giving into them, is very important. Also, when certain challenges arise, prioritizing what’s important and how to address them objectively is going to help a lot. Leadership, much of the time, is about solving issues and finding ways to improve upon the issues.
I have been fortunate in having a lot of women mentors in my career. Often in medicine, we move so frequently and sometimes we may only be in one place for 1 year or 2 years. Maintaining relationships with external mentors can help feel less isolated, especially in neuro-oncology, because it’s often a small division. Finding people who understand what I’m going through and have done it themselves has helped me a lot.
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