Mahabee-Gittens Earns Schmidlapp Scholar Award
CINCINNATI – Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, MD, a physician in the division of Emergency Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, has been selected to receive a two-year, $100,000 Schmidlapp Scholar Award from the Fifth Third Bank/Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Women Scholars Program.
Dr. Mahabee-Gittens' research focuses on tobacco education and smoking prevention, particularly in the emergency department setting. "The overall goal of my study funded by the Schmidlapp Program is to develop and evaluate a brief, emergency-department based intervention for parents that will increase parent-child communication about tobacco and change their children's susceptibility to use it."
With a $500,000 grant from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee, Cincinnati Children's established the Fifth Third Bank/Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Women Scholars Program in 1997 to enhance the recruitment and retention of female researchers. The program, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States, includes a mentoring program and protected time for research.
The goal of the Schmidlapp Scholar Award is to identify junior female faculty members who show promise and leadership skills, to provide them with financial support and protected time for research, and to help them through the tenure and promotion process. The program targets women a few years into their careers who are judged likely to succeed.
"The number of women in basic science and clinical research drops sharply as they move up the career ladder," says Sandra Degen, Ph.D., associate chair of academic affairs at Cincinnati Children's.
"There are several reasons for this lack of advancement, including society's attitude about women in science, lack of mentoring, and children and family responsibilities," she adds. "Not only is the pool of candidates small, but the competition among the eight major pediatric centers in the country to attract them is great. An institution that guarantees financial support and limits the pressures of finding external funding is more likely to retain that scientist."
Dr. Mahabee-Gittens joined Cincinnati Children's as an emergency medicine physician in 1999. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, she has conducted several tobacco-related studies. She is currently in the second year of a two-year grant from the American Lung Association, examining whether a particular educational intervention will help modify the smoking habits of parents.
The Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund was created in 1907 by a gift from former Fifth Third president Jacob G. Schmidlapp in memory of his daughter, Charlotte, who died at the age of 19. Mr. Schmidlapp directed that grants be restricted to helping women establish themselves in life. The tradition and history of the fund has been to assist women by helping them gain an education and access to services.
Media note: Dr. Mahabee-Gittens is a resident of Mason.
Contact Information
Jim Feuer, 513-636-4656,
jim.feuer@cchmc.org
