Women Faculty Networking: Sponsorship in Academic Medicine

​Leah Backhus, MD, MPH

​Leah Backhus, MD, MPH, Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery, is trained in general surgery at the University of Southern California and cardiothoracic surgery at the University of California Los Angeles. She practices at Stanford Hospital and is Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the VA Palo Alto. Her surgical practice consists of general thoracic surgery with special emphasis on thoracic oncology and minimally invasive surgical techniques. She is also Co-Director of the Thoracic Surgery Clinical Research Program and has grant funding through the Veterans Affairs Administration and NIH. Her current research interests are in imaging surveillance following treatment for lung cancer and cancer survivorship. She is a member of the National Lung Cancer Roundtable of the American Cancer Society serving as Chair of the Task Group on Lung Cancer in Women. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. As an educator, Dr. Backhus is the Associate Program Director for the Thoracic Track Residency and is the Chair of the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery which is the accrediting body for all cardiothoracic surgery training programs in the US.

Daryl Oakes, MD

Daryl Oakes, MD, Clincial Professor, Anesthesiology, is Associate Dean of Post Graduate Medical Education and the Stanford Center of CME and Vice Chair of Clinical Educator Affairs in the Department of Anesthesiology.

The focus of her academic work has been the education and training of anesthesiologists at all levels of practice. In 2018 Dr. Oakes was appointed Associate Dean of Postgraduate Medical Education and took over leadership of the Stanford Center of Continue Medical Education. Under her leadership the center has greatly expanded its programming and impact and Stanford CME is now universally regarded as the academic leader in continuing medical education. 

Dr. Oakes is a passionate mentor to both trainees and colleagues and has created multiple programs to support physician professional development including most recently, the Stanford CME Physician Leadership Certificate Program, a 6-month cohort-based leadership training for aspiring and developing physician leaders. She also co-founded and chairs the SCA Women in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology (WICTA) Special Interest Group and has been recognized for her work supporting women medical professionals with the 2021Women in Medicine (WIM) #SheForShe Award and the 2023 WICTA “SHE LEADS” Award. Dr. Oakes is a recognized leader in her field and elected member of the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA).

Carolyn Rodriguez, PhD, MD

Carolyn Rodriguez, PhD, MD, Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Stanford University School of Medicine, Associate Chair for Inclusion and Diversity in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs. As the Director of the Translational Therapeutics Lab and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Rodriguez leads studies investigating the brain basis of severe mental disorders. Her landmark clinical trials pioneer rapid-acting treatments for illnesses including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Her NIH-, foundation-, and donor-funded mechanistic and clinical efficacy studies span targeted glutamatergic and opioid pathway pharmacotherapy, noninvasive brain stimulation, and psychotherapy for OCD, PTSD, and hoarding disorder.

Dr. Rodriguez also serves as Deputy Editor of The American Journal of Psychiatry, member of the Research Council of the American Psychiatric Association, member of Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Scientific Council, and Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board member of the International OCD Foundation. She has won several national awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The PECASE recognizes investigators who are pursuing bold and innovative projects at the early stages of their careers and is considered one of the highest honors in scientific research.