Women are still underrepresented in senior academic positions in science

A recent editorial in Nature Neuroscience explores gender disparities in senior academic positions in science, noting the difficulties women face when climbing the academic ladder. Despite a growing number of women in the workforce (women make up about 47% of the overall workforce), the proportion of women employed in academic positions is low, about 31%. Women make-up only about 19% of tenured US National Institutes of Health (NIH) staff and only about 18% of tenured academics in the European Union. While stereotypes likely influence this disparity, there are more factors at play; indeed, “a fundamental restructuring of the way academic science is conducted” may be necessary to allow women equal opportunities to thrive in the male-dominated field.

At the undergraduate level, women and men are about even: women now account for 56% of all science and engineering undergraduate degrees. Even at the graduate level women are on par with men, with women receiving 63% and 54% of NIH and National Science Foundation predoctoral awards, respectively. So what happens in the transition from the postdoctoral level into the academic and faculty level that causes women to be burdened with this great disadvantage? In short, life circumstances.

Children are a large factor; pregnancy, birth, and recovery all require time and energy, and subsequent childcare issues can interfere with productivity and availability. Confidence may play a role as well. In a traditionally male-dominated profession, women may be less likely to apply for funding and request less money than their male counterparts.

So what can be done? The author suggests a number of changes in the structure and function of scientific academia, including encouraging part-time work, rewarding smaller labs, encouraging collaborations and lab-sharing, and a complete overhaul of how scientists are evaluated and rewarded. These recommendations are just a few of the many changes that can benefit women in science and, in turn, the entire field of science.

Click here to view the article online

The Oncofertility Consortium® is excited to announce that one of our postdoctoral fellows, Lisa Campo-Engelstein, has published an article in the March 2010  issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The article, titled “Including Fertility Preservation Treatment: Consistency and Fairness in Insurance Coverage for Iatrogenic Conditions Resulting from Cancer Treatment,” explores the issue of insurance coverage for fertility preservation for cancer patients.

In the article, Dr. Campo-Engelstein  discusses how insurance companies currently cover treatment for iatrogenic conditions resulting from cancer treatment that could be perceived as elective when “naturally” occurring, such as breast reconstruction following mastectomy and wigs for alopecia. Looking at female cancer patients, Dr. Campo-Engelstein explores similarities between these iatrogenic conditions and iatrogenic infertility. She argues that, because treatment for iatrogenic infertility does not differ in morally significant ways from treatment for these other iatrogenic conditions that are covered, then it should also be covered if insurance companies want to maintain consistency and promote fairness.

A PDF of the article can be downloaded here

To access the article online through the Journal of Clinical Oncology website, click here

As recently reported in BBC News and Human Reproduction, a mother in Denmark has become the first in the world to give birth to a second child after an ovary transplant operation. Stinne Holm Bergholodt was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma at age 27 in March 2004. She made the decision to freeze her ovarian tissue before cancer treatment to allow her the option to pursue biological motherhood in the case of infertility. A year and a half later, Mrs. Bergholdt’s ovarian tissue was transplanted back into her own body with the hope that this procedure would restore her reproductive capacity. Following mild ovarian stimulation, Mrs. Bergholdt gave birth to normal healthy girl, Aviaja, in February 2007. Assuming she would need ovarian stimulation for a subsequent pregnancy, Mrs. Bergholdt returned to her fertility clinic in January 2008, expressing her wish for another child. To her surprise, a pregnancy test turned out positive, indicating that she had already conceived naturally, without any treatment. Her second daughter, Lucca, was born in 2008.

Mrs. Bergholdt and her two children, both born from a single ovarian tissue transplant

This is the first documented report of a woman who has given birth to two healthy children (in two separate pregnancies) as a result of one ovarian tissue transplantation. This study demonstrates that transplantation of just six pieces (around 15-20% of one entire ovary) of ovarian cortex tissue can result in the production of fully mature oocytes for a period exceeding 4 years.  Taken together, these results extend the number of children born as a result of ovarian tissue transplant to nine globally and encourage a continued effort to develop this technique as a valid method of fertility preservation.

To learn more about fertility preservation options at Northwestern (including ovarian tissue transplant), click here

The BBC article chronicling this story can be found here

The article in Human Reproduction can be found here

Dr. Carol A. Rosenberg was recently highlighted in a Medill Report for her work with cancer survivorship. Dr. Rosenberg’s life – from clinical experience to research experience to    personal experience as the mother of a childhood cancer survivor- all seem to have perfectly prepared her to create and direct the ground-breaking Living in the Future (LIFE) Cancer Survivorship program. The innovative program has two main components: a one-time, one-on-one meeting with an oncology nurse to develop customized health plans, and a series of educational workshops and seminars to educate survivors, family members and health care providers on the obstacles survivors face, including potential infertility. The program is based at suburban Highland Park Hospital but serves all the hospitals in the NorthShore University HealthSystem.

For more information about the Living in the Future (LIFE) Survivorship Program, including an informational video, survivor testimonials, and a brochure, visit: http://www.northshore.org/clinicalservices/cancer/survivorship/

To read the Medill article, please visit: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=157315

A recent announcement on the website of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) describes the collaboration between European reproductive health researchers and members of the multi-site Oncofertility Consortium. ESHRE is the largest European Society fostering advances in the field of assisted reproduction and its partnership with the US-based Oncofertility Consortium was solidified at ESHRE’s Reflection Day in Brussles this past year. This burgeoning network of global researchers and healthcare providers is dedicated to advancing fertility preservation at a broad level, but is also keenly aware of the impact that cancer treatment may have on an individual’s fertility. The Oncofertility Consortium is proud to announce this partnership with its European colleagues and has great hopes for this international collaboration.

To read the article, please visit: http://www.eshre.eu/ESHRE/English/Specialty-Groups/Task-forces/Task-Force-Basic-Reproductive-Science/The-Oncofertility-Consortium/page.aspx/812

As recently mentioned, adolescent and young adult cancer patients form a unique subset of cancer patients who cross traditional divides and require collaboration across diverse disciplines. Oncofertility Consortium team members have joined forces with a team of clinical psychologists, physicians, and social workers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to address the concerns of our local adolescent and young adult cancer patients. The Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (AYAO) working group met for the first time this past fall, and continues to meet monthly. The AYAO working group is a spin-off of the LIVESTRONG™ Young Adult Alliance, which strives to coordinate initiatives to improve survival rates and quality of life for young adults living with cancer. The AYAO working group is dedicated to advancing the LIVESTRONG™ mission at Northwestern. Sub-committees have been created to address specific areas of interest, including Awareness, Standards of Care, and Science, and team members are currently working on a number of advocacy efforts.

Our AYAO meeting this past week featured Dr. David Victorson, Executive Director of True North Treks, a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors during their transition or re-entry from a cancer diagnosis and treatment to survivorship. True North Treks facilitates short term experiences in nature focused on contemplative and outdoor leadership activities. This organization aims to enrich the lives of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors by equipping them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to continually re-direct and improve upon themselves, others and the world in which they inhabit. For more information about True North Treks, please visit: http://www.truenorthtreks.org/

Also of interest to the AYAO are the new promotional materials available through the I’m Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation (i[2]y), an organization dedicated to ensuring that every young adult affected by cancer is given access to the best age-appropriate support they are entitled to in order to get busy living at every stage of their survivorship. i[2]y offers online and offline social networking events, adventure retreats, chat rooms, forums and blogs, camping excursions, fertility advocacy, peer counseling, scholarships, financial aide, happy hours, and more. The organization, famous for its “stupid cancer” apparel, has been extremely successful its marketing, selling over 25,000 “stupid cancer” wristbands in 15 countries. A family friendly version of “Kemo,” the stupid cancer birdie mascot, has recently been announced, and new apparel is now available featuring this friendly feathered creature. For new Kemo t-shirts and gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/i2yi2yi2yi2y/6801681

“Kemo,” the stupid cancer birdie mascot

Iva Skoch was 29 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.

A recent NPR podcast, “Young People Living, And Laughing, With Cancer,” tells the story of two young women diagnosed with cancer in their twenties, two unique experiences that highlight a few common themes for young people with cancer. These two women, Iva Skoch and Kairol Rosenthal, were both in their 20s when diagnosed, the population that statistically is the least likely to be underinsured or uninsured. The podcast offers enlightening interviews with these two young women, covering everything from insurance hassles to sexual interest during and after cancer. Each woman has her own story; while Iva returned to her native Czech Republic for cancer care (even though she has insurance coverage in the US), Kairol fought relentlessly with insurance

companies over misplaced paperwork that resulted in a loss of insurance right about the time of diagnosis. Iva’s story includes the emotionally draining decision to bank embryos prior to treatment to preserve her fertility, a process where she felt under-informed and unsupported by the doctors who seemed focused entirely on her cancer treatment. As described by Iva, there are many other issues that impact your quality of life if you do happen to survive cancer, including fertility, issues that are often overlooked or brushed over by the treating physician. And young cancer patients are more open to talk about these issues (and other taboo subjects) than their older counterparts. “Young people don’t feel like they need to whisper after they lose a breast, a testicle, or sex drive,” Iva claims.

Kairol Rosenthal was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of 27

The younger population of cancer patients may also be craving something other than the standard hope-laden support messages that cancer patients commonly receive. Iva describes the growing interest in “cancertainment,” or using humor to fight cancer, which she wrote about in a recent Newsweek article (http://www.newsweek.com/id/209319). In the process of writing her new book, “Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s,” Kairol discovered a similar phenomena: there’s a lot of hype about hope in the cancer world, and sometimes this may be to the detriment of letting people express feelings of vulnerability and weakness. As these women exemplify, the population of young cancer patients differs from their older counterparts – they are looking for ways to express their nitty-gritty experiences with cancer, and humor is proving to be a compatible outlet.

Iva and Kairol honestly and unabashedly describe their experience as 20-something cancer patients and introduce the new concept of combining two unlikely counterparts, cancer and humor, as a means of expression and an outlet for the less-than-glamorous aspects of cancer treatment.

The NPR podcast is available online at: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=9-8-2009

The Oncofertility Consortium held its third annual conference this past week (September 13-15) in Chicago, bringing together a diverse group of researchers, basic scientists, clinicians, nurses, social workers, sociologists, economists, and ethicists to share their progress on oncofertility research initiatives as well as brainstorm for future endeavors. We are happy to report that it was a tremendously successful event that included the participation of over 150 individuals from around the US and abroad. Thank you to all who attended and shared their insights and experiences with the larger group—we hope you were as satisfied with the interdisciplinary and interactive event as we were. A special thanks to our keynote speaker, Dr. John Eppig, as well as all presenters throughout the event and the dedicated staff at Prentice Women’s Hospital and our NUAMPS IT team who ensured a seamless event.

The entire event was recorded live via AdobeConnect, and we look forward to sharing the exciting presentations and discussions with you once all the footage has been uploaded. A link to the archived footage will be posted on the blog once all videos are available, so check back frequently within the next few weeks to see the Oncofertility Consortium in action!

My name is Shauna Gardino and I am clinical research coordinator at the Oncofertility Consortium. I manage the portfolio of social science studies related to fertility preservation for cancer patients. There are five current social science initiatives that provide a vital perspective of the social implications and considerations associated with oncofertiltiy in the lived world, including:
• An examination of the ethical, legal and religious issues associated with emerging fertility preservation technologies, including issues such justice and access to treatment, consent and disclosure, international perspectives and prospective ethics.
• A willingness to pay assessment spearheaded by the Kellogg School of Economics to understand the economic value of oncofertility technologies
• A shared decision-making study aimed at developing, implementing, evaluating and disseminating a shared decision making model for family, patients and health care providers to use in deciding what to do about fertility issues when a young girl has been diagnosed with cancer
• An examination of how breast cancer patients navigate fertility concerns and treatment options, looking at how doctors and patients discuss the topic of infertility and possible treatment options and identifying facilitators and barriers to this exchange of information
• A quality of life study aiming to assess reproductive concerns and psychosocial functioning in cancer patients and to compare longitudinally the overall psychosocial functioning in cancer patients referred for fertility consultation and cancer patients not referred for fertility consultation.

Additional information related to the social science initiatives can be found on the Oncofertility Website:
http://oncofertility.northwestern.edu/research/social-science-and-oncofertility

I am also currently conducting an independent study on adoption agency attitudes and perspectives on the potential to parent for individuals with a history of cancer. I also assist with administrative duties at the Consortium and will be in charge of the Annual Oncofertility Consortium Conference this September 14-16th in Chicago, IL. The conference is an opportunity for researchers and clinicians to disseminate knowledge and share progress and ideas in the field of oncofertility, and a testament to our growing network and emerging field. Mark your calendars!

Looking forward to sharing this exciting research with all of you!!

Shauna