For Women’s History Month, we invited our community to nominate women in medicine who have made a meaningful impact in their lives and work. These submissions highlight leaders, educators, advocates, and role models who are shaping the future of healthcare and inspiring those around them every day.
Dr. Dadlani is a rising leader in psychiatry and digital health, shaping the future of behavioral health. She has been a Doximity Digital Health Fellow every year since the program's inception and plays an active role in the Stanford Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation. In just three years of residency, she has already made significant contributions to behavioral health and medicine, demonstrating a rare combination of vision and impact. As she embarks on her child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Stanford, she is poised to continue driving meaningful change in the field.
Nominated by Ankur Parikh, MD
Julie is a champion of women in medicine. She trained me as an incoming chief resident of internal medicine at Wake Forest, offering unwavering guidance and support throughout the process. Now as an Assistant Professor of Medicine, she continues to model mentorship and teaching for women in our program. Julie educates medical students and residents during these formative years—both in the ambulatory setting and on the inpatient side. Her leadership extended beyond clinical teaching—she created our residency’s social media program, consistently spotlighting the achievements of women faculty and residents. Julie's dedication to lifting others up is an inspiration to all who have the privilege of learning from her.
Nominated by Kathleen Grant, MD
Dr. Vasantha Kondamudi is a visionary leader whose unwavering commitment to patient-centered care and medical education continues to shape the future of healthcare. As Chief Medical Officer of Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck NJ, she is dedicated to advancing clinical excellence, improving healthcare delivery, and fostering the next generation of physicians through her leadership in graduate medical education. With a deep passion for innovation and mentorship, Dr. Kondamudi ensures that both patients and medical trainees benefit from a culture of continuous learning, compassionate care, and cutting-edge medical practice. Her drive to enhance patient outcomes, implement forward-thinking healthcare solutions, and champion physician development makes her an influential force in shaping the future of medicine.
Nominated by Adesuwa Okesanya, MD
I have had interaction, both at personal and professional front. Very caring and humble, would recommend her in a heartbeat!
Nominated by Sreedevi Reddy, MD
Dr. Curtiss is an excellent educator and mentor for many at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She provides compassionate and excellent teaching of all topics related to the musculoskeletal system and is heavily involved in both resident and medical student education. She continues to help and mentor at any stage of training by providing insights and opportunities that are relevant to the individual. I have personally learned a vast amount from her on topics in musculoskeletal care, spine care, and sports medicine. She has also taught me the fundamentals of various axial and appendicular procedures using both ultrasound and fluoroscopy helping me be comfortable in doing them myself. Overall, she is one of the gems of the Medical College of Wisconsin and one of the best clinicians and educators at the institution.
Nominated by Ragav Sharma, MD
Dr. Shameem is a wonderful colleague and goes the extra mile to take care of her team. She is an excellent emergency medicine physician and stays after her shift to teach or provide above and beyond patient care. She is the physician that everyone strives to be.
Nominated by Clarence Kong, MD
Cathrine B. Frank, MD
I would like to nominate Dr. Cathy Frank who I first met in 1995 when I started Psychiatry Residency the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI. Dr. Frank was the Director of the Psychiatry Residency Program. Dr. Frank has contributed so much to the education of residents, fellows and interns. She consistently embodies the values of what it takes to be an excellent Psychiatrist: compassion, commitment to safety and quality, advocacy for patient-centered, and equitable care. Dr. Frank held prestigious positions (Chair of Psychiatry at HFH, Vice-Chair of Clinical Affairs of Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine) and is an international expert on Zero Suicide. She is currently the Emeritus Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services at Henry Ford. Dr. Frank's legacy will be forever etched in all of the students, colleagues and patients she has touched and I will forever be grateful to have worked with Dr. Frank all these years!
Nominated by Doree Ann V. Espiritu, MD
I've known her journey across time and countries, overcoming financial and cultural hardships. She grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Despite not having a stable and sustainable financial resources, culturally isolated and socially underprivileged, she always subscribed to her family values of prioritizing education as the means to climb out of poverty. It was this drive that led her to leave her home at the age of 17 and fly to a different country with different language (Pakistan) to attend it's most prestigious medical school. That was the pre-whatsApp, pre-Facebook, pre-FaceTime, pre-smart phone era. She did not see her family for next 3 years and got to talk to them only once a month for 15 min using prepaid calling cards. Her passion to better herself and her family led her to come to US. During the process she accumulated loans upwards of 1.2 million in local currency (for med school, USMLE exams, elective rotations in the US, residency application processes etc) but she always believed in thebest practices and to her best place to get trained was the US. She matched into an internal medicine residency program but her visa got delayed but her ambitions remained unwavered and I believe that fate had to yield. She was able to join the program. Paid her loans during her residency years. Became a fantastic hospital medicine attending. She remained humble to her journey and transformed her humility into the actions by giving back (monetarily, local community work, being a mentor to many aspiring students and a vocal advocate for physicians - burnout, health system improvement and work-life balance). Through her grit, motivation and a deep sense of purpose in life - currently she is an academic faculty in San Antonio's University of Incarnate Word (UIW) medical school and an associate program director for internal medicine residency program at Texas Institute of Graduate Medical Education and Research (TIGMER) and an MBA candidate.
Nominated by Ameer Khowaja, MD
Dr. Monique Butler took me on as a mentee during medical school, and her commanding yet warm presence instantly inspired me. I remember watching her tackle conflict head-on with a collaborative and assertive approach, which set the standard for my own journey into physician leadership. As president of Graduate Medical Education at HCA Healthcare, she oversees more than 300 residency and fellowship programs across 16 states. Her leadership at this scale continues to motivate me to expand my potential and make a positive impact on our healthcare community.
Nominated by Antonio Smith, MD
Don't forget to recognize the women in your community. Use Doximity GPT to draft a message!