Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Our department is committed to ensuring a diverse staff and faculty, and investing in programs dedicated to equity and inclusion at all levels of education and training. We are also proud of the work we are conducting with young students nationally and internationally; the future of neuroscience is bright.

Department of Neurosurgery Diversity Cabinet

Odette Harris MD, MPH
Professor, Neurosurgery
Vice Chair, Diversity
Director, Brain Injury

Ciara Harraher, MD
Clinical Professor, Neurosurgery
Chief of Neurosurgery, Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz

Atman Desai, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Neurosurgery

Tene Aneka Cage, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery
Director, Equity Research

Julia Kaltschmidt, PhD
Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Neurosurgery

Jennifer Quon, MD, MHS
Chief Resident, Neurosurgery

Parastou Fatemi, MD
Resident PGY-6, Neurosurgery

PIPELINE PROGRAMS

VITAL (VA Initiative in Training and Learning)

VITAL (VA Initiative in job Training and Learning)

We are now in the final Phase of the VITAL pilot.

The venture provides high school seniors with an academic curriculum and competency-based training that will help them develop the skills and credentials necessary for placement into skilled positions within the VA and other Health Care systems, with the potential for promotion and educational subsidies.

The students will benefit from a pathway to stable and competitive employment with the opportunity for promotion and future education. The VA will benefit from filling its vacancies and enhancing the diversity of its workforce.

In July, VITAL graduated its first cohort, seven students were presented with two Certificates of Achievements: Pharmacy Assistant AND Basic Pharmacy Technician Certificates. The ceremony was held at the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula clubhouse, families and friends gathered to witness this meaningful and impactful event. Dr. Odette Harris, founder of VITAL, shared an inspirational speech to congratulate the first graduating class. Additionally, Ms. Angela Su, Director of Pharmacy Technology Program, shared some moving words with the cohort as well. Students were pinned by Dr. Kelly Robertson, Deputy Chief of Pharmacy, who the students completed their externship with at VAPAHCS.

The VITAL team met in early September to discuss next steps to furthering the program and welcome the second cohort of students. We are aiming to recruit 24 students and are planning for a start date in early Summer 2022.

Neuroscience Journal Club

The Journal Club

The Stanford Neuroscience Journal Club, initiated by Dr. Odette Harris and Dr. Reena Thomas to mentor high school scientists in the critical analysis of scientific papers, continues to meet monthly via Zoom. Each meeting features a guest speaker who provides neuroscientific insights. High school students from Silicon Valley and across the nation participate in the program.
Learn More

For our November session, students were invited to participate in the “Stanford Neurodiversity Summit 2021.” The three-day conference providedJClub members insight relating to how understanding neurodiversity can positively impact society. Sessions that were of interest to the students included but were not limited to a Mental Health Panel, College Panel and Neurodivergent Student Panel. 

Harris Internship

The Harris Neuroscience Internship was founded by Stanford Professor of Neurosurgery, Dr. Odette Harris, in 2019 as part of a greater effort to introduce girls and under-represented minorities to careers in neuroscience and neurosurgery. Six high school students from across California were selected to the Internship for the 2021-2022 academic year. Each student is paired with a mentor resident or faculty member from neurosurgery or psychiatry.
Learn More

Six high school students from across California were selected to be Harris Interns for the 2021-2022 academic year. Each of these scholars were paired with a mentor who is a Neurosurgery or Neurology resident, or a faculty member from Neurosurgery or Psychiatry. The pairings are Emma Hong and Jamie Zeitzer, PhD, Anushka Srinivasan and Maheen Adamson, PhD, Paisley de Blank and Adela Wu, MD, Sutchie Ofori-Nyako and David Dadey, MD PhD, Kate Brenner and Isha Srivastava, MD PhD and Kate Richardson and Laura M. Hack, MD.

In early November, we met with the interns and mentors to get an update on their projects. All programs are going well, and all identified issues were addressed.

Summer Programs

The Stanford/VA Summer of Neurosciences Summer Student Program is a platform to expose students (high school, college and grad) students to the fields of neuroscience and medicine.

For summer 2021, over 50 students participated - from four different countries, nine states, seven universities and thirty-seven high schools, being the highest number of students participating to date. The program consisted of three components. The first was the Investigation (Journal Club), where students were able to present, analyze and discuss emerging and foundational topics in the field of neuroscience. The program also consisted of the Insights (Neuroscience Faculty and Clinician Career Panel), where students had the opportunity to interact with leading professionals in their fields of interests once a week. Lastly, the program included the Illuminations component, which granted students access to the Grad Rounds Program in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

We are planning to offer the program in Summer 2022 with a virtual format to continue to expose a wide reach of students from all around the world! We will keep the same elements that made 2021 a huge success while continuing to find ways to improve programming for students.

INSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVES

Grand Rounds Speakers

The 2021-2022 Academic year represents the most diverse roster of Speakers/Visiting Professors. We are proud to host a diversity of research topics, backgrounds/ perspectives and physical abilities.

Committees

BFAM
Dr. Robert Dodd participates in the BlackFaculty Affinity Meetings (BFAM), a group that meets quarterly to allow for a safe space for Black faculty to engage in timely and purposeful dialogue around critical issues affecting physicians of color and continue to make indelible contributions to the Stanford Medical community and beyond. This group fosters opportunities for career mentoring, research collaboration and collective support to retain Black faculty.

Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
Neurosurgery faculty member selected to co-chair the LCME review committee.

Social Justice and Health Equite CCAP Subcommittee
Neurosurgery faculty selected to participate in this formal subcommittee of the Faculty Senate on the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Policy.

The President's Black Community Council, Neurosurgery
Faculty to serve on President Marc Tessier-Lavigne's Black Community Council.

E-4-C

SNaP

The Stanford Network for Advancement and Promotion Program (SNaP), founded by Neurosurgery faculty, is an initiative that brings together underrepresented faculty members in leadership positions to enhance a sense of community as leadership can be an isolating endeavor. This program utilizes cohorts to build intimate community and augment leadership success. Since its formation, there have been seven adaptations of SNaP including: SNaP 1, SNaP 2, WLAM (three cohorts) , P-SNaP, and the latest addition of Neurology SNaP.

In October 2021, SNAP Cohort held its annual retreat, an event that allowed the group to gather.

Diversity Lecture Series

Multilingual Project

In September 2021, Dr. Melanie Hayden Gephart led the efforts of developing a Multilingual video to showcase diversity and inclusiveness from our team members. This is a start something special and great for our clinical team, with rolling updates that will include additional languages in the future. Our objective is to eventually expand to our research teams.

CMA Leadership Post

RESEARCH

Gender in Neurosurgery

In November 2020, Dr. Corinna Zygourakis, in partnership with Dr. Parastou Fatemi, researched and evaluated the status of women in academic neurosurgery publications, with their findings written in: “Does double-blind peer review impact gender authorship trends? An evaluation of two leading neurosurgical journals from 2010-2019.” This was the first report of female authorship in neurosurgical literature.

Journal of Neurosurgery

Seed Grants

The Department of Neurosurgery will be providing funding for four projects investigating outcomes related to equity in neurosurgical patients. Congratulations to our four recipients, Dr. Kelly Mahaney, Dr. Disep Ojukwu, Dr. Adela Wu and Dr. David Dadey. A $5,000 grant will be distributed each year for three years, for a total of $15,000. These projects are intended to develop into larger research projects over time that will be eligible for larger grant funding at the regional or national level.

In October, there was a check in for all recipients and faculty leaders on progress and project status. All projects are moving forward. Project updates will be submitted in January 2022 and 1:1 meetings are slated for April 2022.

VITAL VA Initiative in job Training And Learning

In September, VITAL (VA Initiative in job Training And Learning) reached its one year anniversary and graduated the first cohort of participants. Dr. Tene Cage, in partnership with Dr. Michelle Williams, PhD, RN, in the division of Primary Care Population Health are working to track the success of the program through research. They are studying metrics for retention and success, participants tracks to immediate employment vs. higher education. And, will be defining the program as a model to be expanded to other health professions, regions, and employment partnerships.

WHSDM Women's Health and Sex Differences in Medicine

The Stanford Women's Health and Sex Differences in Medicine (WHSDM) Center is a Stanford School of Medicine center that evolved from the former Women’s Health at Stanford Program. The WHSDM Center acknowledges the wisdom of conducting innovative, multi-disciplinary research on women’s health and sex differences in biology and medicine, from conception through the lifespan, in every medical discipline, from basic science to clinical and population health science.

Presented in August
Work ongoing

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

HBCU Partnership

The Department of Neurosurgery is participating in a School of Medicine initiative that pairs students from Historically Black Medical Schools with clinical and research opportunities at Stanford. Additionally, these visiting scholars will have specified mentorship based on their interests, along with access to Stanford resources such as panels and lectures.

Department and faculty will also be participating in the HBCU Bi-directional Faculty Fellows program led by Dr. Hannah Valantine. Ongoing meetings, next meeting is scheduled for December 2021.

AANS Diversity Initiative

November 2021, Dr. Aviva Abosch notified AANS Diversity Task Force Members about a motion passed to transition the AANS Diversity Task Force into an AANS committee. The passage of this motion is a clear reflection of the AANS Board’s staunch belief of on-going work, and its strategic alignment with the mission of the AANS.

Diversity Cabinet