The award, conferred by Association of American Medical Colleges, recognizes outstanding individual and organizational contributions to advancing women leaders in academic medicine and science.

For her dedication to empowering women in science, breakthrough achievements in molecular medicine and research contributions, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research’s Betty Diamond, MD, has been awarded the 2022 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Award. The honor will be presented in November during a special ceremony in Nashville, TN.

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Dr. Betty Diamond, MD, has been awarded the AAMC Group on Women in Medicine and Science Leadership award for her research in molecular medicine and advocacy for women in science at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. (Credit: Feinstein Institutes)

The Group on Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Awards recognize outstanding individual and organizational contributions to advancing women leaders in academic medicine and science. Since the first award in 1995, more than 30 individuals and organizations have been recognized.

Dr. Diamond is director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes and a pioneer in the basic science research of autoimmune diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus. As a scientific leader, she has committed her career to helping fellow female investigators navigate their careers in the male-dominated – often biased – medical research arena.

In 2010, Dr. Diamond helped form the Advancing Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM – pronounced “awesome”) group at the Feinstein Institutes to help advance women scientists' career development and opportunities. Through philanthropic support, more than $3 million has been raised to support women investigators during that span.

“Throughout my career, I have committed to training women in my laboratory and mentoring women in academics,” said Dr. Diamond, the Maureen and Ralph Nappi Professor of Autoimmune Diseases, where she is also the director of the PhD and MD/PhD programs of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. “We know that women in science and medicine continue to face challenges due to gender bias, and one of my goals is to empower all women scientists to facilitate the progress to greater equity.”

For more than four decades, Dr. Diamond has dedicated her career to the study of DNA-reactive B cells, autoantibodies and their origin and effect on the body. She has focused on the impact these antibodies have on the brain and how they may contribute to changes in cognition or behavior in patients with lupus.

Dr. Diamond was elected to The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in May 2022 for her research in molecular medicine. She was formerly president of the American Association of Immunology and served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology and the Scientific Council of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). Dr. Diamond is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

This summer, Dr. Diamond and her colleagues received the Global Team Science Award of $3 million to study the body’s recovery from lupus in diverse patient populations from the Lupus Research Alliance.

“Dr. Diamond is a widely respected physician-scientist and advocate for women in science and medicine,” said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes and Karches Family Distinguished Chair in Medical Research. “Her tireless efforts and leadership on behalf of her colleagues are inspirational and most deserving of awards and honors.”

Dr. Diamond graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She has headed the rheumatology divisions at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center.

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50 research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, and molecular medicine. We make breakthroughs in genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit http://feinstein.northwell.edu and follow us on LinkedIn

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