Diversity & Inclusion Board

About Us

The Department of Medicine Diversity and Inclusion Board (DIB) is charged with furthering the fundamental mission of supporting and expanding the representation of individuals regardless of gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability within the department.

Women in Medicine Faculty Working Group

Gender equity is integral to the success of the Department of Medicine. The Women in Medicine Working Group has undertaken initiatives to support the professional advancement of women in the Department of Medicine and to insure:

• Transparency and equity in the promotion process, compensation, and resource allocation
• Mentorship
• Funding to support career development, research, and leadership
• Diversity in grand rounds speakers
• Formal parental leave policies

Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Working Group

Physician diversity drives excellence in patient care, education, innovation and research. The DIB’s Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Working Group concentrates on issues central to URiM trainee and faculty success:

• Community
• Mentorship
• Funding to support career development, research, and leadership
• Transparency and equity in the promotion process, compensation, and resource allocation
• Other critical resources

LGBTQ Working Group

Mass General is committed to the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) trainees, faculty and staff. The hospital and the Department of Medicine have developed several resources for LGBTQ employees and their allies. The hospital’s LGBT Employee Resource Group brings together clinicians and staff to support the hospital’s LGBTQ community and to foster an environment that welcomes and affirms all sexual orientations and gender identities. The DIB’s LGBTQ Working Group is focused on improving the experiences of Department of Medicine trainees and faculty through building community, education, and mentorship.

Disability Working Group

Any person can become a part of the disability community, at any time. The Mass General Department of Medicine is committed to trainees and faculty with disability–including vision, hearing, mobility, chronic health or mental health concerns. The DIB’s Disability Working Group works to ensure that our physical environment is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for patients, trainees and faculty, that the Department of Medicine is providing the correct accommodations for trainees and faculty, and that we are educating our community around disability.

Sanchez and Ferguson Research Faculty Award

In the United States, 28% of the population self identifies as Black, Latinx, Native Alaskan, Native American, or Native Hawaiian, but only 8% of U.S. medical faculty are from these racial and ethnic groups. Physician diversity improves our ability to be the best in clinical care, education, innovation, and research because diversity drives excellence.

Guillermo Sanchez, MD, and Lloyd Ferguson, MD, were the first Latino and African American residents in the Mass General Department of Medicine’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, respectively. In 2016 the Department of Medicine established the Sanchez and Ferguson Research Faculty Award with the goal of enhancing a diverse research faculty to drive excellence, and in recognition of an unmet need for funding and mentorship support for junior faculty at vulnerable points in their careers. This award aims to support research faculty from underrepresented in medicine backgrounds. The Mass General Department of Medicine follows the definition of underrepresented in medicine and biomedical sciences of the National Institute of Health and the Association of American Medical Colleges. The intent of this program is to support the careers of promising young Department of Medicine basic and clinical investigators by providing interim funding and career development support.

2023 Sanchez and Ferguson Research Faculty Award Recipients

Mario Cruz-Gonzalez, PhD
Disparities Research Unit
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Yasmin Hernandez-Barco, MD
Gastroenterology Division
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Felippe Marcondes, MD
Division of General Internal Medicine
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Past Award Recipients

2022 Recipient

• George A. Alba, MD

2021 Recipients

• George A. Alba, MD
• Maria Agustina Battistone, PhD
• J. Sawalla Guseh, MD

2020 Recipients

• Jocelyn Carter, MD, MPH
• J. Sawalla Guseh, MD

2019 Recipients

• Ibiayi Dagogo Jack, MD
• Gabriela Hobbs, MD
• Mabel Toribio, MD

2018 Recipients

• Jocelyn Carter, MD, MPH
• Opeyemi Olabisi, MD, PhD

2017 Recipients

• Richelle Charles, MD
• Erica Warner, MPH, ScD

2016 Recipients

• Rhonda Bentley-Lewis, MD, MBA
• Richelle Charles, MD
• Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA
• Zaida Ramirez-Ortiz, PhD

Parental Scholar Research Award

Early parenthood often coincides with critical time periods for research career development. Time taken for parental leave can disrupt productivity with subsequent impact on career progression, satisfaction, and retention.

The Parental Research Scholar Award was developed by MGH Department of Medicine leadership in 2019 with the goal of minimizing interruptions in investigators’ research careers while caring for a new child. The award initially focused on maternity leave but was expanded in 2021 to include all parents with primary responsibility for the new child. The award, which provides support to faculty of any gender, funds one year’s salary for a research technician, coordinator, analyst, or other personnel, with half the salary provided by the DOM and the other half by the faculty member’s division. This support is intended to enhance the retention and to support the career development of research faculty during early parenthood.

2023 Parental Research Scholar Award Recipients

Joanna M. Streck, PhD
Staff Psychologist, MGH SUD Bridge Clinic
Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Associate Director of HPRIR Addiction Science Research and Programs

Caitlin Dugdale, MD
Infectious Diseases Division
Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Past Award Recipients

2022 Recipients

• Josephine Li, MD
• Danielle Fine, MD, MSc

2021 Recipient

• Sara Barmettler, MD

2020 Recipients

• Melanie Haines, MD
• Leland Hull, MD, MPH

Resources and Important Links

• Mass General Credo and Boundaries
• Mass General Center for Community Health Improvement
• Mass General Center for Diversity & Inclusion
• Mass General Disparities Solutions Center
• Mass General Internal Medicine Professional Development Coaching Program
• Employee Assistance Program
• Mass General LGBTQ Employee Resource Group
• Mass General Office for Women's Careers
• Society of Physicians with Disabilities
• The Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education