2023 Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD, Symposium

Dr. Antman, an internationally recognized expert on breast cancer, mesotheliomas and sarcomas, is Provost of the Medical Campus and Dean of Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine since 2005. Dr. Antman previously served as Deputy Director for Translational and Clinical Sciences at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2004-5) and before that as Wu Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she also co-directed the cancer care service line at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Antman was voted 1993 Senior Faculty Teacher of the Year by medical residents. She also served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School from 1979 to 1993, and had hospital appointments at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Based on her group’s translational research, Dr. Antman developed now standard regimens for the treatment of sarcomas and mesotheliomas as well as regimens for breast cancer and supportive care of patients receiving chemotherapy including pharmacology, growth factors and mobilization of peripheral blood derived stem cells for blood and marrow transplant. Dr. Antman also is outspoken on public health policy issues. She has written extensively about impediments to clinical research on cancer, and she has testified before Congress on the need for federal research dollars to support cancer research with articles in the medical literature (as well as Vogue and Readers Digest). She has written more than 300 journal papers and edited five textbooks and monographs, many with multiple editions.

She is a member of PBK and the Institute of Medicine. She has served as President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 1994-5, the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplant in 1996-7, and the American Association for Cancer Research in 2003-4.

She has more than 300 publications and is the editor of 5 textbooks and monographs (Asbestos related malignancies, Sarcomas of Bone and Soft Tissue, High-dose cancer therapy: pharmacology, hematopoietins and stem cells (three editions), and Molecular Targeting in Oncology).

She serves on the Administration Board of the American Association of Medical Colleges Council of Deans, the Journal of the American Medical Association Oversight Committee, the International Editorial Board of Lancet, and on the board of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). She has served as an associate editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, and on the Council of the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center.

She has published reviews and editorials on medical policy and the impact of research funding and managed care on American clinical research and testified before congressional subcommittees on eight occasions on National Institutes of Health appropriations and medical policy.

Dr. Harris is Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion at Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and is an Associate Professor in General Internal Medicine, in the Department of Medicine. They also serve as the Executive Director of Faculty Development for Boston University Medical Campus. Dr. Harris works to design, implement, and lead innovative programs and initiatives aimed at providing and promoting more equitable learning and working environments for faculty, staff, and students around issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice. An applied medical sociologist, Dr. Harris’s areas of research include race and ethnicity, gender and sexualities, health and illness, social movements, cultural studies, urban studies, and media studies. More specifically, they examine how groups construct health issues and how the structural marginalization and stigmatization they experience impact their experiences with health care. Dr. Harris has authored and co-authored dozens of books, articles, and essays, including Womanist AIDS Activism in the United States: “It’s Who We Are” (Roman & Littlefield, 2022), Queer People of Color: Connected but Not Comfortable (Lynne Rienner, 2018) and the Intersections of Race and Sexuality (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) book series.

Dr. Jasper is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist who is practicing at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. Prior to coming to JJ Peters full time, she had been in private practice in Manhattan and been an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center for more than 20 years. Dr. Roberson Jasper has a BA in Biology from Indiana University-Bloomington and obtained her medical degree from Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and completed her residency at Columbia University Medical Center. She holds national certification as a menopause practitioner through the North American Menopause Society, where she was Chair of the NAMS Education Committee from 2015-16. Organizational Affiliations: Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Member of the Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Member of the North American Menopause Society. Awards received: 2019 Top Docs, Best Doctor’s List in 2013 & 2011, America’s Top Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 2009-12, 2017, 2018. Patient Choice Award in 2009, 2011, 2012. Beacon Award in 2012 for One Hundred Black Women Chapter of New York.

Dr. Mieres is a Professor of Cardiology and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra /Northwell. She is a Senior Vice President of Northwell Health’s, Center for Equity of Care, and provides strategic guidance for Northwell’s diversity and health equity initiatives and serves as the health system’s first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Under Dr. Mieres’ leadership Northwell Health has been recognized as a top Health system for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, most notably by Diversity Inc. as a “top 10” healthcare institution for a measurable commitment to health care justice. Northwell Health has been in the top 10 list for nine consecutive years and recognized as number one for three consecutive years from 2020.

A graduate of Bennington College and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, she is a Fellow of The American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), and Master of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC). As a clinician scientist, she has authored over 70 publications in peer review journals. Dr. Mieres is actively involved in service and has served in the following roles:

• National spokesperson for American Heart Association’s (AHA) Go Red For Women movement,
• Past chair of several national AHA committees and writing groups,
• First female President of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology in 2009

Dr. Mieres is a patient advocate and prolific communicator. A few highlights include: Co-authored five books and co-produced four documentaries:

• Heart Smarter for Women: Six Weeks for Healthy Heart ( 3/2022 Forbes Advantage)
• Reigniting The Human Connection: A Pathway to Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity
  • (5/2022 Forbes books)
• Award winning Women’s health documentary “Diagnosed” Cinequest film festival 3/2020
• 2001: Emmy-nominated for the PBS documentary “A Woman’s Heart”

Dr. Mieres is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the 2022 American Heart Association’s Physician of the Year award and the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Williams is originally from the Bronx, N.Y. and is the second of two children born to first generation parents from Jamaica, West Indies.

Dr. Williams currently serves as a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry providing her expertise in areas of safety strategy, women’s health, and medical education working with global companies including Pfizer, Neurana Pharmaceuticals, and Medscape Education in this capacity. Prior to consulting, Dr. Williams was Vice President of Safety Surveillance and Risk Management at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals from 2009-19. In this role, she oversaw the safety team responsible for managing Pfizer’s global portfolio of over-the-counter and infant nutritional products including research and development, safety surveillance, strategy and risk mitigation activities as well as serving as an expert in women’s healthcare. While at Pfizer, Dr. Williams created a for-credit medical student elective with Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine “Introduction to Drug Safety within the Pharmaceutical Industry,” which is still a part of the curriculum today. Dr. Williams has also served as a guest lecturer to RWJ Dental School on this subject. She was Senior Director at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals from 2001-09 prior to its acquisition by Pfizer. At Wyeth, she served as Safety Therapeutic Area Head for women’s health, OTC, infant nutrition, global safety surveillance, and epidemiology.

Prior to her pharmaceutical career, Dr. Williams was an obstetrician/gynecologist in private practice at Women’s Healthcare Specialists in King of Prussia, Penn., from 1993-2001. Dr. Williams was a diplomat on the American Board of Obstetrics/Gynecology from 1995-2005. She completed her internship and residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia where she served as Chief Resident from 1992-93. As a resident, Dr. Williams was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society for her outstanding contribution to medical student education. She earned a BA in psychology from BU College of Arts & Sciences in 1984 and an MD from Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine in 1989.

Dr. Woolcock is a generalist Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Boston Medical Center with a special interest in health disparities, community medicine, and diversity initiatives that increase the number of underrepresented groups in medicine. At Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine she currently serves as an Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion and the Director of the Early Medical School Selection Program, which is the diversity pipeline program into the School. She is also the Associate Director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship. Prior to joining the faculty at Boston Medical Center, Dr. Woolcock was a generalist OB/GYN at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she completed the Kraft Center for Community Health’s Leadership Program, created and chaired the department’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and served as co-course director for the OB/GYN and Women’s Health in the Urban Community Settings for Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Woolcock earned her Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Hampton University. As a proud Bostonian, she received both her MD and MPH from Boston University, and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston Medical Center.