Physician Division — Grants

Linda Brodsky Memorial Grant

The Dr. Linda Brodsky Memorial Fund honors Dr. Brodsky’s memory by endorsing her passions for gender equity, medical student success, clinical research and the advancement of women physicians. Funds will be used to support the Brodsky Memorial Scholarship and related initiatives promoting gender equity in medicine including but not limited to medical student projects, relevant research and quality of care.

The goal of this grant is to honor Dr. Brodsky’s memory by endorsing her passion for gender equity, medical student success, clinical research and the advancement of women physicians. The program provides funding up to $10,000 to members who submit a project that addresses these initiatives. The project may be oriented to research, education, political advocacy or a medical endeavor that speaks to the mission of the Linda Brodsky Fund.

2021 Grant Winners

Sex-Related Healthcare Inequities in Left Ventricular Device Surgery

Dr. Wendy BernsteinDr. Wendy Bernstein

Dr. Wendy Bernstein is a Board Certified Professor of Anesthesiology and serves as the Vice Chair of Education, the Division Chief for Cardiac Anesthesiology and the Director of Simulation for the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Bernstein is engaged in research for team training and communication and has presented locally, nationally and internationally on various topics in simulation. She serves on the ASA Editorial Board for Interactive Computer-Based Education, appointed to the Governance Committee for Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and is an ABA Board Examiner. Furthermore, she is a member of several ASA committees, including Professional Diversity, for which she has presented on numerous topics for increasing women’s leadership in academic medicine.

Dr. Milica BjelicDr. Milica Bjelic

Dr. Milica Bjelic is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Rochester. Dr. Bjelic received a medical degree at the University of Belgrade Medical School, Serbia. Her moving to the USA to pursue a career in medicine was motivated by her specific interest in developing a technology assisted patient-tailored approach that would root itself in equality and fairness. Dr. Bjelic is engaged in the research of advanced heart failure, dominantly in the area of mechanical circulatory support. Dr. Bjelic presents on topics related to cardiac surgery and anesthesia at the national and international levels.

Narrowing the Gap for Female Physician-Scientists in Training

Nidhi PatelNidhi Patel

Nidhi Patel is a rising fourth year M.D. candidate at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Currently, she is a Medical Research Scholar Program (MRSP) fellow at the National Institutes of Health where she studies the effects of inflammation on cardiovascular disease under the mentorship of Dr. Nehal Mehta. She is a member of the AMWA Sex and Gender Health Committee where she works to raise awareness on the roles of sex and gender in emergent conditions and the importance of involvement of women in clinical trials. She is also the co-founder of the National Clinics Collaborative, a grassroots organization with over 350 student members interested in bridging health disparities for vulnerable populations through student run free clinics . Nidhi is an aspiring physician-scientist pursuing internal medicine who is passionate about empowering women and promoting gender equity in medicine.

Submit a Nomination*

To submit your nomination, please send all relevant documents and materials in a single email to getf@amwa-doc.org before the deadline of January 15, 2024.

The submission should include:

  • 10 page maximum for proposal (excluding CV and other supplemental materials)
    • Please use the following grant outline/checklist when writing your proposal
      • Title of Project, Authors
      • Background/Introduction: Purpose, Need, Scope of Project
      • Methodology/Objectives/Work Plan
      • Outcomes/Evaluative Measures/Initiative Sustainability
  • IRB approval, if required
  • 1 page budget page (how money will be used, and what the deliverables will be, as well as timeline)
  • CV of proposal writer and other authors
  • Proposal will be evaluated based upon: novelty, partner support, relevance to gender equity, written quality, scientific rigor, organization, and measurability
  • Grant money cannot be used for travel expenses, entertainment, personal expenses, tuition or course fees, legal fees, unapproved aspects of the research, non-research related equipment or materials

*Must be an active AMWA member to submit.