The Joan F. Giambalvo Fund for the Advancement of Women provides scholarships of up to $10,000 to support research advancing the study of women in the medical profession and strengthening the AMA's ability to identify and address the issues affecting women physicians and medical students.

The first award was granted in 2006. The scholarship was established by the Women Physicians Section (WPS) in conjunction with the AMA Foundation. To date, 31 research awards have been granted.

Learn about the recipients of the 2021 Joan F. Giambalvo Fund for the Advancement of Women and read about their research projects.

Project 1: The pandemic and the female physician: Creating a framework to retain female faculty

Pictured: Huma Farid, MD (l); K. Meredith Atkins, MD (r)

Award winners

• Huma Farid, MD, associate program director, obstetrics and gynecology residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School
• K. Meredith Atkins, MD, associate dean undergraduate medical education Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School

Project summary

The project focuses on evaluating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on female physicians with children, with the end goal of developing a framework for how institutions can best support these physicians, particularly those physicians who are early on in their careers. We aim to do this through an anonymous survey of female physicians in academic institutions. Based on the survey data and our own experiences at our institution, we would develop a comprehensive framework for institutions to help support female faculty.

"We are thrilled to have received the Giambalvo Award! The pandemic has had an indelible impact on the nation, and most particularly for our frontline workers. As women in medicine, we have witnessed and experienced first-hand the challenges female physicians face: changing work schedules, remote learning, isolation from our families and a lack of consistent, reliable childcare. The impossible task of balancing it all was made even more challenging during the pandemic, but there are ways to help support female physicians that we aim to explore and promote through our project.

"When we received this award, we felt heard and acknowledged. It has bolstered us to pursue this interest in the hope that we can use the lessons gained from the pandemic to promote physician well-being and retain female physicians in the workforce."

Project 2: Intersection of trainee ethnicity/race and gender on learner assessment in medical education (InTERsect study)

Pictured: Robin Klein, MD, MEHP

Award winner

• Robin Klein, MD, MEHP, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine

Co-investigators

• Nneka N. Ufere, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Sherri-Ann M. Burnett-Bowie, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Kerri Palamara, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Jennifer Koch, MD, University of Louisville
• Erin D. Snyder, MD, University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine
• Anna Volerman, MD, University of Chicago
• Sarah Schaeffer, MD, University of California, San Francisco
• Katherine A. Julian, MD, University of California, San Francisco
• Vanessa Thompson, MD, University of California, San Francisco
• Wendy Simon, MD, University of California, Los Angeles
• Simerjot K. Jassal, MD, University of California, San Diego and Veterans Administration, San Diego
• Alex Millard, MD, University of Virginia
• Brian Uthlaut, MD, University of Virginia

Pictured: (top row, left to right) Erin D. Snyder, MD; Sherri-Ann M. Burnett-Bowie, MD, MPH; Vanessa Thompson, MD; (bottom row, left to right) Nneka N. Ufere, MD; Kerri Palamara, MD; Katherine A. Julian, MD

Project summary

Inequities and bias in learner assessment are critically important yet understudied problems in medicine. Disparities in assessments likely contribute to maintaining inequities and gaps in representation across the profession. While evidence suggests gender and race/ethnicity independently influence assessment, what remains unknown is how gender and race intersect in assessment in medical education. We propose a multi-site longitudinal study to explore the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity in faculty assessments of learner performance in medical education. This will be the first multisite study exploring the intersection of gender and race in assessment in GME.

"We are honored to receive the 2021 Joan F. Giambalvo Fund for the Advancement of Women to support this important project. Understanding the combined impact of race and gender on women’s experiences in medical education and training is important to achieving true gender equity. We are thankful for the support of the AMA for our team’s work examining bias in assessment at the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity."

Learn about the past recipients of the Joan F. Giambalvo Fund for the Advancement of Women.

AMA is seeking innovative research proposals focusing on professional work/practice issues that affect women physicians, including but not limited to:

• Leadership training protocols
• Gender-based physician practice patterns
• Physician satisfaction or burnout
• Retention incentives
• Practice re-entry issues

The deadline for applications is July 15, 2022. An application form will be posted once available.

The American Medical Association Women Physicians Section (WPS) in conjunction with the AMA Foundation established the Joan F. Giambalvo Fund for the Advancement of Women to promote the progress of women in the medical profession and to strengthen the ability to identify and address the needs of women physicians and medical students.

Joan Fara Giambalvo received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and, in 1956, her medical degree from Temple University Medical School. Dr. Giambalvo was an intern at Temple University Hospital and certified in her residency by the American Board of Anesthesiology.

Dr. Giambalvo passed away on May 14, 1971, at age 39, of liposarcoma.