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WIHP

ANNOUNCING: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to host next WIHP™ meeting April 10-11, 2008. For more information, email wihp@innovara.com.

Corporate WIHP™ Award Sponsorship

WIHP™ Internship Awards Institutional Selection Process

General Inquiries

Frequently Asked Questions

What is WIHP?

Women in High Places, or "WIHP", is an informal network of the 200 or so of the highest ranking women in the health care industry and in medical research and academia. Its goal is simple: help women at the highest levels of their companies or institutions connect with their peers to share, learn from and support each other and build productive networks. WIHP meetings are organized every two to three years. This year the meeting is April 10-11, 2008 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute in New York City, New York. The theme is Leading the Challenge of Cancer. To request registration please click here.

We also recognize that "leaders create leaders." Through WIHP Internship Awards, WIHP also aims to create mentoring opportunities for academically qualified young women with leadership potential who are interested in pursuing careers in health care or advanced studies in medicine and research, by matching them to scientific and medical thought leaders and institutions in their fields of interest.

What is the Background of WIHP?

It was created in 2000 by Innovara's CEO, Barri Blauvelt, in recognition of the need to help the very highest level of women in the health care industry and in medical research and academia to find each other and to have an occasional, intimate forum for sharing best practices and for networking.

Who is in WIHP?

WIHP is comprised of CEOs and other "C's" (CFOs, COOs, CMOs, CIOs, etc), as well as other women who represent the highest-ranking females in their organizations. Members in WIHP mainly come from major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and diagnostic companies, manufacturing-based health care companies, renowned medical research and teaching-based hospitals, medical schools, research institutions and government agencies involved in healthcare. Additional members include others who support the health care sector.

Why is there a Focus on Women at the Top?

Because there needs to be. Research by Innovara and other organizations such as Catalyst, Deloitte Touche, Healthcare Businesswomen's Association, Forbes, Scrip, Society for Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (SELAM), the AMA, and the US Department of Labor have collectively documented that women are still a long way from achieving parity in leadership in the health care industry and medicine.

For example, as of April 2006 of almost 1000 health care companies and 200 leading medical schools and teaching hospitals analyzed by Innovara:

Between 40 - 70% of entry level positions in the health care industry, including medicine, are filled by women, but fewer than 15% of the top three levels of any health care organization are headed by women and in medical research and teaching based hospitals, fewer than 8%.
Of the 100 top paid executives in the health care industry, not one is a woman.
There is NO woman CEO of a top 20 pharmaceutical companies or research based teaching hospital in the USA.

What does WIHP do?

WIHP mainly serves as a network and resource base for women at the top to connect with other women at the top, at least initially through Innovara. In addition, WIHP members are provided with opportunities to meet as small groups usually at or near locations known for at least one major center of medical excellence.

Through WIHP Internship Awards, WIHP also supports the development of medical mentorship, to encourage and aid young women in their pursuit of a career in academic medicine, research, and related sciences.

(See below for more information on these awards.)

When Do WIHP Members Meet?

WIHP meetings are organized whenever and wherever a forum of at least 10% of membership is interested to meet, approximately every 2-3 years. WIHP meetings usually are held at or near a major medical center of excellence.

When Will Be the Next WIHP Meeting?

The next meeting of WIHP will be April 10-11, 2008, at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City, New York and the program will focus on Leading the Challenge of Cancer. Confirmed speakers include Helen Zorbas, Director of the National Breast Cancer Centre and Meena Bansal, President and CEO of the Mt. Sinai Medical Center. Also speaking are Bonny Harbinger and Mojdeh Bahar of the National Institute of Health, as well as the CEO of Innovara, Barri Blauvelt.

When was the Most Recent Meeting of WIHP and What Was Its Focus?

In April 2006, WIHP members met at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. WIHP members shared their knowledge with other members, with additional time for informal networking and discussions.

Presentations were made by WIHP members on the following topics:

Julie A. Freischlag, Director, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: Maintaining Leadership at Johns Hopkins
Margot DeFrance, Director, Health Care Equity Product Management, Citigroup Capital Markets: The View from the Street
Lisa N. Colleran, Senior VP, Commercial Operations, LifeCell Corporation: Nothing "As Usual": New Therapies, New Markets, New Rules
Ginger Graham, CEO, Amylin Pharmaceuticals: The CEO Challenge
Catherine Bonuccelli, VP, External Scientific Affairs, AstraZeneca: Leading External Scientific Affairs: The Bridge Between Industry and Medicine
Susan Hogue, Director, MedVantx, Inc.: The New Primary Care Paradigm: The MedVantx Advantage
Ayse Ozger, General Manager, Eczasibasi Corporation: Turkey on the Rise
Barri Blauvelt, CEO, Innovara, Inc.: Bringing New Medicine to a Global Marketplace
Janice Clements, Professor and Director at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: Comparative Medicine : More Than a Name Change Needed
C. Gita Bosch, Associate Dean, Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences: Attracting and Keeping the Best and the Brightest
Holly Pyne Connor, Curator, 19th Century American Art, Newark Museum: The New, Emancipated Woman in Late Nineteenth-Century American Art

How Does One Join WIHP?

If you are not already a member of WIHP, you may inquire by submitting your contact information through this site or by sending Innovara an email directly. You will be contacted by Innovara to determine if WIHP is appropriate for you.

Whether or not it is appropriate for you to become a member of WIHP, Innovara recommends that you also join the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association ( www.hbanet.org ), if you are from industry. If you are a dean, professor or other leader from academic medicine or research, Innovara recommends that you also join SELAM ( www.selaminternational.org ).

How Can I Get a List of other WIHP Members?

You can't. The list is maintained by Innovara, but is not generally available - even to other WIHP members. However, a list of companies and institutions represented by WIHP membership is available to WIHP members. If any WIHP member needs help to locate another WIHP member or needs help to be networked to a specific type of WIHP member (e.g. with a specific expertise or background), she may contact Innovara for assistance. This service is free of charge.

Who are Organizers and Supporters of WIHP?

All WIHP members support WIHP through their attendance at meetings, sponsorship of awards, and other support. WIHP is organized and maintained by Innovara, Inc.

What are WIHP Internship Awards?

The main vehicle of such mentoring support is in the form of WIHP Internship Awards. These prestigious awards fund summer or other semester-long research-based internships for undergraduate or soon-to-be graduate female students at these medical centers of academic and research excellence. WIHP Interns are selected by the institutions based upon both academic performance and other demonstrations of leadership qualities.

All WIHP members are encouraged to sponsor WIHP Internship Awards. (See more information on WIHP Internship Awards below).

Which Institutions Receive WIHP Internship Awards?

Institutions whose work in specific fields have been recognized nationally and globally are qualified to receive WIHP Internship awards, and must also have at least one full professor/faculty member who is renown in his/her field and who is eager to be the mentor to the chosen intern. The mentor and her/his institution completely control the selection of the intern based upon academic and leadership qualifications of the students. WIHP sponsors are required to make at least a three-year commitment to funding in order to ensure continuity of the award.

WIHP Internship Award Institutions include:

Amherst College
Brigham & Women's Hospital
Cleveland Clinic
Dana Farber Cancer Center
Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Hampshire College
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Smith College
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota Diabetes Institute
University of Pittsburgh
Washington University
Yale University School of Medicine

How can I, or my company, become a sponsor of a WIHP Internship Award?

We welcome any support to make WIHP Internship Awards available each year. Any person, company or organization can sponsor a WIHP Internship Award. There is a waiting list of many other institutions that would like to receive one or more awards. If you wish, you may request an award go to a specific institution and/or mentor and his/her department. In the latter case, Innovara will identify leaders who are potential mentors for you to select and approve.

How can an Institution or faculty member become a Recipient of a WIHP Internship Award to give an intern?

Institutions and faculty members interested in receiving WIHP Internship Awards for their interns should contact Innovara directly. Please click here for further information on becoming an institutional recipient of a WIHP Award.

How can I Nominate a Student for a WIHP Award?

It is up to the institution to determine the designee of the WIHP Internship Award. Individuals cannot directly request an award.

How can I Receive more Information on WIHP?

Upon request, a folder with more information on WIHP, including press releases, applications, and more, will be provided to you. For for further information, please contact Innovara via our inquiries form or by contacting Koren Berrio, WIHP Executive Coordinator.

Download the WIHP FAQ in PDF format