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Final Program


Schedule at a Glance
Legend
Program: Scientific Session
General Topic: Clinical

Sponsoring Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Team Science and Clinical Practice

Sunday, October 26, 2025
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Central Time

    Moderator(s)

  • DeAnna Baker Frost, MD, PhD

    Assistant Professor
    Medical University of South Carolina
    Charleston, South Carolina, United States

    Disclosure(s): Allogene: Consultant (Ongoing); Boehringer-Ingelheim: Consultant (Ongoing)

  • Karen Kruzer, MD, MA

    Assistant Professor- University of Rochester
    Victor, New York, United States

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose

    • Session Coordinator(s)

  • Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS

    Associate Professor, Division of Rheumatology
    University of California, Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California, United States

    Disclosure(s): AbbVie/Abbott: Consultant (Ongoing); AstraZeneca: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Atyr Pharma: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Boehringer-Ingelheim: Consultant (Ongoing), Grant/Research Support (Ongoing), Speaker/Honoraria (includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness) (Ongoing); GlaxoSmithKlein(GSK): Consultant (Ongoing), Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Horizon: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Kadmon: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Prometheus: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing)

  • DeAnna Baker Frost, MD, PhD

    Assistant Professor
    Medical University of South Carolina
    Charleston, South Carolina, United States

    Disclosure(s): Allogene: Consultant (Ongoing); Boehringer-Ingelheim: Consultant (Ongoing)

Women and minorities remain underrepresented in both research and academic medicine. This session will discuss strategies to promote women and minority representation in clinical trials and research. This session will also provide practical solutions for supporting women and minorities in medicine to ensure retention, promotion, and success. While this session will illuminate ongoing disparities in research and clinical medicine, it will also review potential solutions to improve these disparities.

Learning Objectives:

  • Outline strategies to improve retention of women faculty in academic medicine
  • Provide solutions to enhance the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in clinical trials
  • Design studies to address gender and racial/ethnic disparities in autoimmune diseases with a focus on the intersection of genetics and exposures

Presentations:

  • 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Central Time
    Implementing Clinical Practice Changes to Support Women in Medicine

    Speaker: Sheetal Desai, MD – UC Irvine

  • 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Central Time
    Promoting Diversity in Clinical Trials: Practical Solutions

    Speaker: Edith Williams, PhD – University of Rochester Medical Center

  • 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Central Time
    Integrating Genetic and Social Exposures to Investigate Population Disparities in Autoimmune Diseases

    Speaker: Paula Ramos, PhD – Emory University School of Medicine